The New Dark Age

25 September 2014 — Pambazuka News

 

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Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839

 

CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Announcements, 3. Comment & analysis, 4. Advocacy & campaigns, 5. Obituaries, 6. Books & arts

 

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1 Features DEMILITARIZING EPIDEMIC DISEASES IN AFRICA Narcisse Jean Alcide Nana

 

President Obama has responded to the Ebola crisis in Africa by sending 3,000 military personnel to the affected region. The real beneficiary of this militarised messianism is, in fact, the military-industrial complex back in the US http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92985 

 

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EXPOSED: THE ‘HEROIC EBOLA DOCTOR’ MYTH Jon Rappoport

 

The image of the heroic doctor is actually promoted as a diversion, a cover story, a false trail, a way to conceal the true causes of illness–and a way to refrain from eradicating these true causes http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92966 

 

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US MILITARIZES RESPONSE TO EBOLA CRISIS WHILE CUBA PLEDGES MEDICAL AID Abayomi Azikiwe

 

Whereas America has sent soldiers to fight Ebola, Cuba has pledged medical personnel. This gesture of revolutionary foreign policy provides an example of how underdeveloped states which have a legacy of slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism, can transform through a process of class struggle and self-reliance. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92986 

 

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MAYAN PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT DEFEATS MONSANTO LAW IN GUATEMALA Christin Sandberg

 

The unjust neo-liberal law would have given exclusivity on patented seeds to a handful of transnational companies. But Mayans resisted it relentlessly. The success of these protests is an inspiring example of what the people can achieve for themselves when they rise up to confront power in defence of their own interests. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92994

 

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FOOD AND THE FAO’S INSECURITY WITH THE TWO-THIRDS WORLD Rahul Goswami

 

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014 report depicts a one-sided picture of a malnourished ‘developing’ world, leaving out gross nutritional problems and hunger in ‘developed’ countries. Worse, this report advocates neo-liberal solutions that serve the interests of agri-business rather than critical small-holder farmers. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92992 

 

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FOREIGN POLICY AND HUMAN RIGHTS: IS A DIALOGUE POSSIBLE? Laura Trajber Waisbich

 

Civil society organizations ought to expand their scope of work to serve as watchdogs and partners in/for action in advocating for more pro-rights and pro-social justice foreign policies. They should monitor policies and actions, provide knowledge and technical support, and challenge policies and behaviors that are undemocratic or that violate human dignity, at home or abroad. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92990

 

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RENAMO: A THREE-SIDED COIN? Fredson Guilengue

 

General elections will be held in Mozambique on 15 October. Incumbent president Armando Guebuza is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. RENAMO is key player in these polls and the politics of Mozambique generally, although its influence has waned in recent years and its real agenda remains confusing http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92991

 

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TRANSNET: COUGHING CANARY IN THE CLIMATE COAL MINE Patrick Bond

 

Facing the most serious civilizational threat ever, what is the South African government doing? The new Infrastructure Development Act pushed into law by Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel will fast-track carbon-intensive mega-projects on behalf of mainly foreign corporate beneficiaries. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92971

 

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STOP POSTULATING THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS Ending the oppression of Muslims Mahathir Mohamad

 

It is not the religion of Islam that leads Muslims to commit heinous acts. It is simply the anger, hate and rage over not being able to do anything to stop Europeans or the West from oppressing people who profess the same religion. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/92973

 

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2 Announcements SPECIAL ISSUE: TRANSITION JUSTICE IN AFRICA – CHALLENGING CONTEMPORARY KNOWLEDGE, NARRATIVES AND PRAXIS

 

Pambazuka News invites articles on the question of Transitional Justice in Africa to help readers make sense of the debate in order to effectively play their roles as citizens of Africa. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/announce/92972

 

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3 Comment & analysis SOS – SAVE OUR SEED The Battle for African seed independence, food security and sovereignty Glenn Ashton

 

Controlling seed means controlling food production. Africans must choose how they farm. They must not become perpetually indebted to a predatory, profit-driven agricultural-industrial complex. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92970 

 

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THE NGO-IZATION OF RESISTANCE Arundhati Roy

 

NGOs give the impression that they are filling the vacuum created by a retreating state. And they are, but their real contribution is that they defuse political anger and dole out as aid or benevolence what people ought to have by right. They alter the public psyche. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92980 

 

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MR. PRESIDENT, RETORE OUR DIGNITY Zaya Yeebo

 

Ghana seems to have crossed the threshold of moral decency on a dangerous slope towards self-destruction and moral turpitude. It is now a dog-eat-dog society where those in power have abandoned the citizens to the wolves of private aggrandisement. Does the president see this? http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92984

 

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PRACTICALITIES OF RADICAL THOUGHT AND PROTEST IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN CONTEXTS Kwesi Dzapong Lwazi Prah

 

For most of us today, our lives are bound by the laws of the state, or internationally-enforced laws that define terms of trade, sovereign independence, and political involvement. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92993

 

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MISDIAGNOSIS: MOTHER TONGUE POLICY AND ENGLISH PROFICIENCY IN MALAWIAN SCHOOLS Steve Sharra

 

The new policy ignores serious systemic challenges within Malawi’s education system. It discourages the use of local languages in favour of English, a fact that has important cultural ramifications. In sum, the policy makers have misdiagnosed the problem and prescribed the wrong medicine http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92995

 

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VISA DENIED Biko Zulu

 

What an astonishing show of colonial arrogance! There are certainly many people around the pan-African world who have been similarly mistreated. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92996 

 

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THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA AND MIGRATION How will the emerging powers make their mark? Kira-Leigh Kuhnert

 

Seventeen new targets have been agreed upon as the post-2015 development goals, including migraation. Engagement by the emerging powers on the issue of migration could yield positive results. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92997

 

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ZAMBIA: GOVERNMENT SIZE VS. ECONOMIC GROWTH Henry Kyambalesa

 

Zambia suffers from a bloated government. A streamlined government structure will cut wastage and is likely to yield huge savings from salaries, special allowances, and utility allowances. That money is needed for development http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92998

 

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HOW THE US HELPED CREATE AL QAEDA AND ISIS Garikai Chengu

 

Much like Al Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS) is made-in-the-USA, an instrument of terror designed to divide and conquer the oil-rich Middle East and to counter Iran’s growing influence in the region. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92981 

 

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GRUESOME BUDDIES: ISIS BEHEADINGS AND THE AMERICAN DEATH PENALTY Pierre Tristam

 

ISIS beheadings have provoked instinctive revulsion, justly so. Too bad the same reaction doesn’t follow America’s equally barbaric continuation of the death penalty, a habit other civilized nations have abandoned. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/92969 

 

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4 Advocacy & campaigns PROGRESS IN THE NEW ALLIANCE? NOT IN SUPPORT OF SMALL-SCALE FOOD PRODUCERS Call of G7/G8 Civil Society Organizations to their Governments on the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa

 

The New Alliance sidelines the diverse and sustainable food systems of small-scale farmers which offer the real potential for food security and nutrition in Africa. Instead, it promotes environmentally damaging approaches to agriculture that entrench corporate power. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/92967

 

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OPEN LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ON FARMERS’ RIGHTS

 

Civil society organisations and movements are concerned that a resolution passed year to ensure safeguarding of farmers’ rights is being subverted in favour of a discussion on innovation and plant genetic resources http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/92988 

 

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INDECENT ACT COMMITTED BY TONY MOCHAMA UPON THE PERSON OF SHAILJA PATEL

 

The alleged sexual assault on the Kenyan poet has sparked a hot discussion in the country social media and literary circles. The accused, a journalist and writer, denies the claim. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/92999 

 

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ACTION ALERT! HAITI: PRESIDENT ARISTIDE’S LIFE THREATENED

 

Legislative elections due to take place in Haiti in October are triggering a new chilling wave of repression aimed at President Aristide and his supporters. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/92968
 

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5 Obituaries REMEMBERING THOMAS DEVE

 

Thomas Deve died on September 7, 2014. He was a visionary, Pan-Africanist and thinker in human rights and arts circles. Here is a short video of tributes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aSCQPLF1XQ) to him at a commemoration held in Nairobi. 

 

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SOUTH AFRICA: NOTED STUDENT SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVIST DIES

 

BDS South Africa mourns the passing of Palestinian solidarity and student activist, Comrade Yusuf Talia. We also celebrate Cde. Talia’s inspiring life! http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/obituary/92979

 

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TRIBUTE TO COMRADE HUMPHREY KIMANI NDEGWA AKA ‘KIM WA RPP’ Gacheke Gachihi

 

Comrade Kimani remained steadfast in his commitment to the liberation of Kenya ever since he joined the reform movement in the early 1990s. Though uncelebrated nationally, the social justice movement in Kenya is the poorer with his untimely death. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/obituary/92989

 

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6 Books & arts MY BODY AND SKIN Valentina Acava Mmaka

 

What is your body? What is it to you, to others and to the whole world? Who makes decisions about your body and why? Here’s one woman’s deep thoughts on these fundamental questions http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/92987

 

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OBAMA’S LAW: WHEN WESTERN ADVOCACY MISSES THE MARK Ben Radley

 

Obama’s Law is a forthcoming, feature-length documentary that travels between the Congo and America to reveal the danger of the single African story – the African victim in need of a white saviour – that continues to be sold in the West. Ben Radley for Pambazuka News caught up with the film’s director, Seth Chase, to find out more. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/92983 

 

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