African Unrest

In Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina was officially sworn in today as the nation's new president after deposing Marc Ravalomanana. The turmoil began in November, when the Ravalomanana government and Daewoo inked a deal to cultivate crops on 2.5 million acres (an area roughly equal to Rhode Island and Delaware combined) of the island. Madagascans felt betrayed by Ravalomanana's apparent selling-out.

In January, a TV station owned by Rajoelina broadcast an interview with Ravalomanana's foe, former President Didier Ratsiraka, and was shut down by the Ravalomanana government. Rajoelina supporters marched on, looted, and set fire to the state broadcaster in retaliation. Rajoelina was then fired from his post as mayor of Antananarivo, the nation's capital.

The opposition was losing momentum until February 7, when 28 Rajoelina supporters were killed. Defense Minister Cecile Manorohanta resigned in protest. Ravalomanana resigned on March 17, transferring power to a military triumvirate, who in turn handed over power to Rajoelina.

In response to the coup, Madagascar's membership in the African Union has been suspended and the U.S. has cut foreign aid. The responses seem a little rash. The Ravalomanana government cracked down on free speech and killed opposition members; that does not seem like an entirely legitimate government to me. And Rajoelina has promised to write a new constitution and hold elections within two years. A little longer than I would like, but this hardly seems like a power grab. I may be proven wrong in time, but I do not yet have a reason to distrust Rajoelina.

But along the South Africa-Zimbabwe border, South African authorities have shut down the Musina refugee camp. Zimbabweans fled to South Africa to seek refuge from economic and political turmoil and a cholera epidemic. And now the South African government has shut down the camp, dispersing 4,000 refugees.

A South African spokeswoman, Siobhan McCarthy defended the move, saying:

The showground is simply not designed for people to live. There is no water, there is no ablution facilities, there's nothing there, so people cannot live there. It has already become very unhygienic.

Why doesn't the South African government just provide the needed supplies? Mostly xenophobia:

With thousands of Zimbabweans homeless and roaming the streets of the city, human rights activists and opposition political parties in South Africa have raised fears of a fresh outbreak of xenophobic violence.

Business people in the city have complained to the government, saying the presence of Zimbabweans on the streets was affecting their business.

A Rainbow of Actions

I'm going to start something new. I get a lot of emails requesting me to write or petition someone for this or that reason, and I wanted to share some of them with you. There is one for each color of the rainbow. Ish.

Red: Last Tuesday, women's rights activists distributed roses outside of Zimbabwe's Parliament in a Valentine's-themed demonstration. This being Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe, many were arrested. So Amnesty International wants you to write Valentines for Mugabe. Or you can email Zimbabwe's Minister of Justice and Ambassador and urge the release of Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, the founders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise. The two were arrested on October 16 for "disturbing the peace" and their bail hearing has been postponed a total of three times. The court is "very busy."

Orange: The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, the first time a sitting head of state has been indicted by the ICC. Save Darfur is worried that Bashir will lash out and wants you to email President Obama and have him name a "point man" on Darfur.

Yellow: Implore your Senators to investigate how the United States began to torture. (From Amnesty International.)

Green: For those affiliated with the University of Michigan, undersign this letter to President Mary Sue Coleman, urging her to reduce the university's environmental impact and encourage the research and promotion of sustainability. (From the Student Sustainability Initiative.)

Blue: MoveOn.org wants you to sign this petition to counter conservative flak and convince President Obama to appoint a progressive Secretary of Health & Human Services who can reform the United States' health care system. (MoveOn is particularly worried about Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen who made a fortune running an HMO and cut TennCare.)

Indigo: Amnesty International wants you to email Secretary of State Clinton, urging her to create an upper-level position dedicated to gender equality.

Violet:

Ken Starr, yes that Ken Starr, has filed a legal brief seeking to forcibly divorce gay California couples who married before the passage of Prop 8. Sign this petition to do something about it. (From the Courage Campaign.)

Take action!

Headlines: 8 August 2008

• Former bin Laden driver gets light sentence: After five years at Gitmo and a Supreme Court case, Salim Hamdan will be eligible for release in five months.
• A Glossary of Iraq Euphemisms: George Orwell is rolling over in his grave.
• Musharraf Won't Resign, Allies Say: The Pakistani Parliament is moving to impeach.
• Tibetan exiles in India protest Beijing Olympics naturally.
• Arrests as Burma marks uprising: Twenty years ago today, the Burmese started a six-week uprising against the junta.
• Mbeki set for new Zimbabwe talks: Mugabe and Tsvangirai are approaching a power-sharing deal.
• Detroit mayor charged with two felony assault counts: Michigan AG Mike Cox filed those two charges stemming from an incident involving Kilpatrick and an officer trying to deliver a subpoena on a Kilpatrick ally.
• A Whole New McCain: No more Mr. Nice Guy.
• Large Hadron Collider operations scheduled: Zwoom!

Headlines: 21 July 2008

• Bomb blasts hit Spanish resorts: ETA detonates five bombs in northern Spain. No deaths.
• 2 Die in Blasts on Chinese Buses: As China tightens security before the Olympics, public protests pick up, and China may be using the threat of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) to crack down in the west.
• Zimbabwe Rivals Sign Agreement: Talks between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai begin. Can they reach a power-sharing arrangement?
• Another Species in Danger: The wolverine should be added to the Endangered Species List.

Headlines: 23 June 2008

• Obama Camp Closely Linked with Ethanol: I'm going to have to disagree with Obama on this one. Subsidizing corn-based ethanol does little for the environment/sustainability/energy independence (Ethanol still causes pollution and the fertilizers used to grow corn are largely petroleum-based.) and raises food prices.
• Mugabe Rival Quits Zimbabwe Runoff, Citing Attacks: It's now entirely up to the international community to act.
• Is Israel Preparing to Bomb Iran?: It looks that way, but they shouldn't. Because when you engage in diplomacy instead of militarism, you get results like...
• ...North Korea invites media to nuclear plant blast: The six-party talks have resulted in the dismantling of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor.
• How George Carlin Changed Comedy: The irreverent stand-up comic is dead at 71.
• Getting to Know Jim Webb: Joe Klein says that veep "speculation is usually a waste of time. It is what political reporters do instead of reporting during the dead weeks after the primaries." What? My last two weeks of work isn't real journalism?
• The Warrior-Poets celebrate their 100th post:

Headlines: 12 June 2008

• No renewal for renewables: Two bills failed to achieve cloture in the Senate on Tuesday, the Consumer First Energy Act and Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act. The former would have taxed oil companies' windfall profits and used the taxes to invest in renewable energy. Oil companies could avoid the tax by investing in the energies themselves. The latter bill would have extended tax breaks for renewable energies and would have funded it by closing loopholes in the tax code. Key quote from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: "Republicans are determined to lower gas prices the only way we can: increasing supply." What about decreasing demand? Even if you don't believe in global warming, we don't have an infinite supply of oil. Sir, you and your colleagues have the farsightedness of Mr. Magoo.
• Justices Rule Terror Suspects Can Appeal in Civilian Courts: "What? Due process? Argh! Justice Kennedy, you have killed us all!" said Justice Antonin Scalia. This would be funny if he didn't actually say that the ruling "will almost certainly cause more Americans to get killed."
• Zimbabwe Detains Opposition Leaders: MDC's secretary general was detained almost immediately after his return from South Africa.

Meanwhile in Zimbabwe

Recounts of last month's parliamentary elections have changed nothing: control of Zimbabwe's Parliament will pass to the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for the first time since the country won independence from Britain in 1980. However, the recounts have been used to stall the presidential elections, allowing incumbent Robert Mugabe to intimidate his people with violence and cruelty:

Twenty-four babies and 40 children under the age of six were among the 250 people rounded up in a raid on Friday, according to Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Yesterday they were crammed into cells in Southerton police station in central Harare...."In Mugabe’s Zimbabwe even children are not spared the terror that befalls their parents[," said Chamisa.]

Jendayi Frazer, assistant Secretary of State for Africa, is doing a fantastic job urging other African leaders to condemn Mugabe's actions. But I have heard nothing about other American officials. Secretary Rice, President Bush, and Congress should condemn Mugabe in no uncertain terms and strive to increase international pressure against him.

Headlines: 24 April 2008

• In Surprise, Ford Swings to Profit
  

  Just not in the North American market.
  

• U.S. envoy says Zimbabwe's Mugabe lost
  

  Finally, someone in the U.S. government tells it like is.
  

• Patrick: Democrats will rally behind Obama
  

  Mass. governor downplays Obama's PA loss and repudiates pollsters' conventional wisdom.

Headlines: 23 April 2008

• Moqtada al-Sadr issues 'all-out war' ultimatum

• Sorry this article is a little old. Why are we walling off Sadr City anyways?

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• Petraeus to Be Nominated to Lead Central Command

• Because "staying [the] course is not a bad idea." Funny quote:

• Though the Central Command was created in 1983 to cover the "central" part of the globe between the European and Pacific Commands, according its Web site, its main headquarters is located not in its theater of operations, but rather in Tampa, Fla., at least in part because of the political sensitivity of basing it in the Mideast.

• You think?

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• $100 fill-ups arrive at gas pumps

• This Summer: $4/gallon: Coming to a gas station near you!

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• Sri Lanka suffers bloodiest clashes since 2006

• The minority Tamils want their own state; the majority Sinhalese government vowed to destroy the rebels before elections in May.

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• Violence mars Zimbabwe recount

• Robert Mugabe intimidates his political rivals as a recount determines which party controls Parliament. Zimbabwe, by the way, has the world's highest inflation rate, at an astounding 100,000%. And that's according to officials. The real rate might be higher.