Topics from 192 countries

Portuguese Empire Heritage

2011-12-02T04:38:00.000-08:00

10 reasons to visit Portugal

2011-12-01T15:41:00.000-08:00

Surfer rides 90 foot wave (World Record)

2011-11-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

Garrett McNamara breaks the world record for the largest wave ever surfed.

* Nazaré is a well-known fishing village in the north of Lisbon.

Someone to miss.....

2011-10-06T04:32:00.000-07:00

Everyone's heard of the inventions of Steve Jobs: iPods and the rest of Apple products; Pixar movies like Toy Story and the impact on animation techniques. An amazing person was behind these products that made such an impact. Truly someone who made a difference.

We're here to put a dent in the universe. -Steve Jobs, entrepreneur and inventor (1955-2011)

Where is shinji ?

2011-04-13T04:59:00.000-07:00

I tried e-mailing him on 192 countries e-mail then the one in his blog through his profile, there was no reply. Does anyone read/participate in this blog can reach him in person??

MODULO INFORMATIVO - RADIO PÚBLICA

2011-03-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

MODULO INFORMATIVO - RADIO PÚBLICA

Nicaragua: a tropical country

2011-03-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Weather

Nicaragua’s climate is tropical, with temperatures determined largely by elevation. The coastal regions have a hot climate, with a mean average temperature of 81°F. In the central highlands, the temperature varies between 60° and 80°F. The rainy season occurs from May until early November.

The weather on the top is cool, fresh and sometimes wet; a light jacket for rain and wind is essential.

Climate

Nicaragua has a predominantly tropical climate, alternating between two seasons: rainy and dry (winter and summer). In the Central Region the rainy season lasts from May to October. The dry season occurs from November through April. During December the weather is more temperate. The warmest months are March, April and May, Nicaragua’s "sea season". The weather is much more temperate in the Central and Pacific regions.

The dry season at Darien is the time when trade winds blow fresh from the north and a heavy blue sea breaks all along the coast. Little rain falls, except in the mountains. Temperatures range in the low eighties; the sky is spotlessly clear day and night.

The line of march was to be over the abrupt green mountains that rise only a few miles in from shore. Selfridge would head for the Caledonia gap, which, from the bay, appears lower than it is and might well be taken even by an experienced observer as the perfect place for a canal. It was what had attracted Dr. Edward Cullen originally.

The Mature Libya

2011-03-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

The Mature Libya

The delay in forming no-fly zone in Libya will lead to a disaster. They are demolishing all the western claims that they are promoting their values in democracy and freedoms. What they are doing in delaying the no-fly zone is giving a chance to the pro-government troops to re-occupy the eastern Libya.
If we take a look on the current situation in Libya, we will get a shaken conclusion: Pro-government troops are killing people to re-occupy the eastern Libya. we can accuse the west in blinding itself to see who will win and who will secure its interests in Libya.

The calls for Gaddafi’s to step down are a hypocrisy .you can’t explain that away from the hypocrisy. We can go in a debate with them and prove that. They want to re-form the Iraqi’s model. They want to let Gaddafi to re-occupy the eastern Libya and put sanctions on him to reach to a point where they can get the fruit mature.
The mature Libya means that they can control the oil and Gas sources and secure its reserves for the future without paying a high price.They are not in a situation that they can defend the values they are promoting. It is a matter of interests and the cost of securing their interests . The west is not sure that dealing with the interim council in Benghazi will secure its interest. They don’t want to go in a doubtful negotiation with them. Dealing with the interim council may not reach to the understanding they want.
unconditional support for the interim council will not benefit them . They want a clear gurantee that their interests willbe secured as Gaddafi is doing .
Their problem with Gaddafi ,that he has lost his legitimacy in ruling Libya. They know very well that he became weak and can’t go froward in ruling Libya. Here , the comparison between him and Saddam Hussein is logical .Theyhad let him rule 13 years before they invade Iraq and overthrow him . We may see the same scenario: letting Gaddafi rule as a weak leader and wait to the point where they see it is suitable for them to pick Libya matured .

A Prayer for Japan

2011-03-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

We are saddened by the disaster in Japan

Libya : The tyrant is resisting

2011-02-21T05:26:00.000-08:00

Libya : The tyrant is resisting

It seems to be the end of Ghadafi rule. The massacres have been done in Libya in the last two days tell, clearly, that Ghadafi is losing the control. What he is doing is the last try for him to restore his power and rule.

The clashes which started on 16th of February in the eastern part of Libya has spread to reach the capital, Tripoli. This is, surely, a sign that the clashes and later the revolution is not an isolated case and it is a nation revolution.

The Libyans officials try at the beginning to say that what is happening is no more than economical and social protests against the poverty and marginalization. They argue that the marginalization of the eastern Libya has pushed thousands to protest.

The younger son of Ghadafi, Saif Al-Islam, has said, subsequently, that the government has dedicated 200 $ billion to be invested in the Eastern Libya.

The general scene which the entire world is monitoring is different. It is a revolution against the regime.

The spreading of the clashes to Tripoli clarify that .The revolutionists expects that they will overthrow the regime within two days. I know that it is an optimistic conclusion. The Libyan regime will resist and try to survive by all means.

احتكار الطرح : أزمة النخبة

2011-01-27T04:47:00.000-08:00

احتكار الطرح : أزمة النخبة

هل لهم ان يتذمروا لرؤية محجبة بحجة ازدياد أعدادهم و تشوه “صورتهم الحضارية “؟
اذا كان لهم هذا الحق فعلا فلغيرهم أيضا الحق في التذمر من حاسرات الرؤوس لتشويههم “الصورة الاسلامية” للمجتمع .
المنطقان لا يستويان لان لكل منطق منطق مضاد يفنده بسهولة .
القصة ان اختلال التوازن في المجتمع و غياب الصراع على قضايا مصيرية ذات جدوى يدفع من يظنون أ نفسهم النخبة المتعلمة المتعلمنة الى محاولة إثارة مثل هذه المواضيع السخيفة .
النقاش في المجتمع يجب ان يكون أعمق ؛سواء في قضاياه او في معالجة هذه القضايا .
عملية الاسئثار سواء في وسائل الاعلام او المؤسسات الثقافية او تلك التي تكون الرأي العام لا يمكن ان تدوم . التجارب الحديثة و القديمة تثبت ذلك و تثبت أيضا بان من يحارب في صفك اليوم سينقل البندقية الى الكتف الاخر و ينقلب عليك بمجرد اختلال موازين القوى.
تبقى نقطة واحدة لا بد من قولها و لو كانت صادمة : لا يمكن فرض طريقة حياة أقلية على أكثرية و لا يمكن تعميم الاسثنائي على القاعدة العامة

UG-English (UGANDAN SPEAKING ENGLISH

2011-01-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2011

2011-01-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

Martin Luther King Jr., December 11, 1964

This holiday was established by law in the United States in 1983 and has been celebrated by most states since 1986. It is observed on the third Monday in January, placing it near Dr. King's birthday, Jan 15. Government offices, most schools and many businesses observe the holiday, but stores and restaurants remain open.

2011-01-01T06:40:00.000-08:00

Birth pangs? or just chaos?

2010-09-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Please note that I wrote this post mainly for Zimbabwean readers of my blog at House of Stone, and haven't edited it. If you have any questions, please ask me.

Yesterday, I helped shape Zimbabwe’s future. Or I like to think so anyway. I went to a COPAC (still don’t know what it stands for, but something like the Parliamentary Select Committee on the constitution; whatevs) outreach meeting, which is supposed to be the forum where the good citizens of this wonderful country get to have their say on what the (new) constitution should be like. Very nice in theory. First of all, no one seemed to have any idea about times or venues for these things. They may very well have been advertised in some form or fashion in newspapers or on the radio- but hardly anyone reads the paper anymore, and no one seems to listen to radio. I knew because my uncle is some functionary in the MDC, and he had a programme.

Anyway, my mother and I made our way on Saturday morning to the Small City Hall, the venue for our ward. We arrived at about 9 am, as any self-respecting African would, for an 8 o’clock meeting. There were of course only ten bodies present in the whole building, and none to tell us where everyone else was. No notices either. Well, we decided to sit and wait. Following are my initial notes (yes, I’m your local journalist):

9:00 am 10 people present. No one from COPAC
9:47 am 70-80 people inside venue. A minute or two later, arrival of approximately 5 COPAC delegates. Delegate gets up to announce that we are waiting for equipment to arrive.
10:13 am Still waiting….. Approximately 150 people present.
10:27 am Asked to stand up. All present sing the national anthem in IsiNdebele. Strangely moving, and I feel the stirrings of patriotism. Also feel amazed that I remember even a word of the anthem, let alone in IsiNdebele. Prayer follows (and the man who volunteers to pray is strangely eloquent- did he practice for such a time as this?)
10:34 am Introduction of dignitaries present and introduction to the process. There have been 19 amendments to the present constitution! Hm. There is also a preponderance of men in the audience, perhaps 80-90 %; wonder where all the women are this morning?

After that, we were told that we would be going through the questions under the headings below:
1. Preamble
2. Founding Principles
3. Citizenship
4. Bill of Rights
5. Women and Gender Issues
6. Youth
7. The Disabled
8. Media
9. War Veterans
10. Land
11. Empowerment
12. Environment
13. Natural Resources
14. Labour
15. Religion
16. Systems of Government
17. Arms of the State
18. Electoral Systems
19. Independent Public Offices
20. Independent Commissions
21. Executive Commissions
22. Public Finance
23. Central Bank
24. Traditional Leaders
25. Languages, Arts and Culture
26. Transitional Mechanisms

I will say right here that I nearly made it through the whole meeting; I faltered at number 17. Things started off fairly well, but as we progressed, it became apparent that there were people who had come to make a stand against the previous Government, as well as a small but extremely loud group of young people who had come to make a point for a certain party. An example: when time came for discussion of Arms of the State, most people thought there should be just one “head” of state, namely the President, with one Vice-President. Said group wanted things to remain as they are. When it came to terms, most people agreed that five years was long enough, with two terms only. Said group made strident calls for “20 years, or for as long as the people want him” (ahem). Anyway, during the discussion of that part of the constitution, things grew very, very heated, and since I was wrecked anyway at that point, we left, and left a piece of paper with the scribes (record keepers) where I had written down anything else I wanted that I had not had a chance to say.

The process got me thinking a lot though. Firstly, and obviously, in this part of the country, politics is not as polarised as in other parts, simply because this seems to have become a stronghold of the opposition, one way or the other (that is, either the MDC or any other party, as long as the cause of the people of this region is advanced). Secondly, abeSiNdebeleni want a much bigger role in shaping their own destinies, and the destiny of the country. They have been feeling marginalized, and are now determined to make a stand (-more on that in a future post). Thirdly, although the group of young people (for some reason I keep wanting to say “Green Bombers”) was vocal to the point of being obnoxious, they were very obviously in the minority, and were mostly booed every time they got up to speak. In fact, at some point the chair of the meeting, and one other delegate, pointed out that people present had to be sure to make themselves heard, as there were elements there who obviously had a hidden agenda. He even addressed them directly about this, saying he knew why they’d come. Fourthly, the turnout in most parts of Bulawayo was apparently quite high, even though in some (many?) areas, people had to wait for the COPAC teams, and in some places meetings failed to happen. (Yes, about that- I wonder what on earth is going on within COPAC).

This, in short, was my experience of the process. I have not gone into detail about the individual points of the constitution mainly because it would take too long, and it’s Sunday night :) Feel free to ask me though.

Update: Apparently even though we were a little worried about violence in Bulawayo, according to Studio 7 (VOA News), there was actual violence in parts of Harare, including Mbare, Budiriro and Epworth. Obviously these are reports I cannot verify; please check news channels etc to confirm.

Un gobierno y una alcaldía disputan obra de Miguel Angel | El Mercurio de Cuenca – Noticias de Cuenca Ecuador

2010-08-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

Un gobierno y una alcaldía disputan obra de Miguel Angel | El Mercurio de Cuenca – Noticias de Cuenca Ecuador
La estatua que desde hace 135 años se expone, es motivo de conflicto. Creo que lo que está en disputa son los millones que anualmente dejan los turistas que visitan diariamente la gran obra de Miguel Angel.

audius - Muchandiona (Shona) (Feat. An - Day Like This

2010-07-18T01:19:00.000-07:00

This song makes me so sad. Will Zim ever be the same again? It's a song by a Zimbabwean musician based in Australia. He sings about being away from home, and that one day he'll be back, and will make his mother proud.

(PS Please ignore the link to download- site has poor reputation).

On the highway...

2010-06-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

The view as I travelled to Johannesburg...

Inspired by Iceland

2010-06-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

Follow this link and you'll be....

Syria : A serious need for reform

2010-05-12T22:55:00.001-07:00

Syria : A serious need for reform

Syria is away from the siege it found itself in it during the last decade and especially after the invasion of Iraq. we can say that it is a victory for a brilliant syrian foreign policy and its effective tools . The pressures on syria are in its lowest grade maybe from 2003 and there is no real external threat for Syria except that traditional one which Syria has adapted to it during more than 50 years : Israel .
We all know that Israel is a real threat on syria .
It is clear and undoubtable and every one who knows a little about history knows that it is not only occupying Golan heights of syria , but also threatening the heart of Syria as the crusaders were doing during the middle ages.
we should now focus on our internal issues without ignoring the external . In Syria , there is a real and serious need for reform .
Reform is a must for syria and without it ,we will face a dark future and angradual increase in poverty in a country where 40 % of its population could be classified as poor. The dissolve of the middle class is something clear for witnesses. Increasing of slums at the edge of the big cities and the clear increasing in prostitution and begging in syrian big cities are indexes for the country economic situation.
Some statistics suggest that more than 5.3 millions of syrians are living below the poverty line . This number is forming about 25 % of total population which counts almost 21 millions . the numbers which are published by syrian government are tricky and based on its own view of poverty and the daily life needs.
The offical numbers of the Syrian centeral statistics office which is a government institiuation suggest that the number is far lower than 5.3 millions . It suggests that only around 11 b% of syrian are living below the poverty line.
Without a real internal reform and fight against corruption , all the victories in the foreign policy will be abolished and will be as a desert mirage.
The classification of Syria as a resistant country is meaningless if this resistance has not been accompanied by a real reform and by real decrease in poverty and a fair distribution of the wealth. This wealth is monopolized by a minority (not exceed 10 % of the population). The transformation of the Syrian economy from the social economy to the market economy has lead to what we are seeing daily in Syria .

Mustafa Hamido

i-List Macedonia CNN

2010-05-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

This week my country Macedonia will be presented in CNN i-List.

Pecha Kucha Night # 5 - Kuwait

2010-05-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Pecha Kucha Night # 5 - Kuwait City, was held in the Museum of Modern Art. This is my favorite of all I attended, for various reasons, the first and foremost is for the people I got to meet and talk to, familiar faces from far, lovely atmosphere all in all, the crowd was very live and active this time. Also the presentations and presenters were interesting and very passionate about what they present. Here are bits and pieces of what I've seen there

Hussa Al-Humaidhi was the first presenter, with Sout Al-Kuwait which started as a small idea then grew up to be a social group trying to spread the awareness towards the constitution, Democracy, local laws and the Kuwaiti people's rights to participate in making Kuwait a better country through those tools.

Then Zeyad Boarki presented his passion for photography, that grew with time, the special thing about his presentation is that he illustrated the story of many, any observer would notice that photography is growing among Kuwaitis and Flickr is one way to see the that the Kuwaiti photography community is growing in a very pleasant way and we do have MANY talented in that field.

Amani Al Thuwaini & Farah Al Haider, were amazing :} they are two simple girls with a passion for ART! They try to spread the awareness about art and their wish to grow art in Kuwait, one of their hopes is to have an institute to teach art in Kuwait. Art is one of the many abandoned interests in Kuwait and has little attention from people.

Lewis Chapman, An Englishman, his family moved to Kuwait in 1996 and he has been living between Kuwait and UK since then. His art work influenced by many scenes in Kuwait, his drawings are very real in an amazing way, especially when it comes to shades, the interesting part however was that he repeatedly drew people walking away :] a thing not many focus on and frankly I thought it was charming! It gave a whole new perspective to the scene he was drawing. His website above will show you how creative this man is :}

Dari Al Huwail spoke about the Kuwait Diving team, that is under appreciated in my opinion, those guys are VOLUNTARILY doing our beloved country environmental favors, they are really sea angels! From helping sea animals, coral reefs to cleaning & picking up junk from the bottom of our sear and more,,,, they did it all, with out any financial benefit! They deserve all the support we can give them, through their website you can connect with them and know how can you help :]

Sama Al-Wasmi presented her lovely blog High Street q8. Sort of the Kuwaiti version of the Sartorialist that I once posted about and in the comments I discussed with Forza at the time the possibility of having a Kuwaiti version of The Sartorialist, Sama made it a reality :] With a few rules of keeping the personalities anonymous and taking faceless pictures, she shows the real everyday life fashion, caught with her eye and lens an interesting new addition to the Kuwaiti community/ blogging community to be more exact.

Yvonne Wakefield, a teacher in Kuwait University who portrayed her self as a pomegranate! When she first spoke I did not think that I would like what she will say! Then when I LISTENED and saw her art I realized how deep is the symbolism of the pomegranate, through the phases of her presence in Kuwait and the problem she faced with her visa, that prevented her from going back to her homeland "USA" when she wanted to. Along her portraits and words, I realized yet again how powerful is painting, how through brush strokes and a canvas she could emphasize a life, feelings and hopes. Her art work is currently exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art.

Lulwa & Balsam Al-Ayoub are two Kuwaiti girls who play fencing and presented Kuwait in many international sport events. In the presentation there was a picture shows their mother Fatima Al-Omani representing Kuwait back in 1967 and her daughters following her footsteps to raise the name of Kuwait worldwide. The two girls did not stop at this they also continued to participate to encourage children in the Kuwaiti community to participate in sports.

Ahmed Al-Gharabally the CEO of Masahati.com spoke about his project. Masahati is a new Kuwaiti online real estate selling website, that aims to ease the process of looking for a real estate in at the comfort of your home. The presentation was very nice, it started from how the internet market is growing and how it evolved, then after a gathering with friends back in 2008 he decided to make his online real estate website, to cover a gap in the Kuwaiti market. I think its a good project that will benefit more people and will grow in the future.

Last presentation was done by Talal Obeid, an independent self-taught graphic designer. To begin with I am very biased to this talented man, not only because he was one of the first bloggers I knew back when I started blogging in 2004 but because he impressed me with his work! his illustrations like a t-shirt design that he merge the Arabic culture with famous internationally known figure like Darth vader or Om Kalthoum a famous Egyptian singer. His projects vary from putting his illustrations & graphics on posters/ logos/ T-shirts,, etc. Nevertheless, all that amazing work is SELF developed :) that is where he WOW'es me, I respect that in him, to be a young self dependent and taught artist that created suck amazing work.

Away from the presentations and amazing live music, I had a lovely evening, I met old friends, made new ones, smiled from far and seen lovely smiles, seen a lot of nice people and really loved the whole friendly and enthusiastic crowd :] PechaKucha night #5 in Kuwait City is a HUGE success, really interesting presentations and presenters, lovely crowd. A big thank you goes to Dr. Aseel Al-Ragam who introduced this even to Kuwait.

For previous PechaKucha coverage in Kuwait:
PKN#4
PKN#3

P.S: for the full review with all the pictures you can visit this link.

Plastic or real cork?

2010-05-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

http://online.wsj.com/community/groups/wine-241/topics/plastic-real-cork-better-way

Land of ice and fire

2010-05-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I visited the area of the country which has been hit worst by the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. I can't deny that the experience was rather overwhelming. The weather was nice, but the ash blew in my face and above the volcano spewed out more ash and tephra. Many volunteers are working in the area, helping the farmers to minimize the damage for the coming summer. The task is overwhelming, but when many people come together, with one goal, everything is possible.

Afterwards I went to the other side of the volcano to see where the lava flow is coming down the mountainside, melting the ice as it slowly moves downwards.

Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy so I couldn't see the eruption itself.

There are some more pictures here.

Iceland is a perfectly safe country

2010-04-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit strange following all the media frenzy around the Eyjafjallajökull glacier eruption during the last few weeks. Surely the people living closest to the glacier have been hit rather hard by ash falling on their farmland. Together we will hopefully overcome the damage that has been done.

Otherwise the country is totally undisturbed by the eruption (problems with flights to and from the country, true). We go on with our lives as if nothing had happened, as a matter of fact there are much bigger concerns to deal with: the results of the abominable outcome of the capitalist experiment which has ruined our economy, during the last two decades.

I live about 80 km from the eruption and the only concern I have is, whether I can see the eruption.

I took this photo while the eruption was still quite powerful.

This one I took a week ago with the cathedral of Skálholt in the foreground.

What is hurting the country, as a result of this eruption, is mainly hysteria, stirred up by the media. We are allright and whoever comes here is welcome to enjoy the wonders of our country.

More on Zim (still here!)

2010-04-27T07:30:00.002-07:00

Apologies to faithful readers of this blog for the prolonged silence!

Life seems to finally be picking up in my part of the world. Since that much vaunted, better-than-sliced-bread Government of National Unity finally came into being, geese have been laying golden eggs, someone put Humpty Dumpty together again, the secret to world peace has been found, and pigs are flying regularly. Julius Malema has come and gone, leaving some new jokes (about him, that is) in his wake. Zimbabweans have, unsurprisingly, fast-adjusted to having real money around, and have rapidly been increasing prices, just so we don’t forget the old days. Many people have been working for no or half pay, because industry is still operating far below capacity (in most cases, 40%, although Colcom reports that it is now at 100% capacity). People have forgotten how to complain, even when the Mayor of Bulawayo buys an official car that’s better suited to a movie star than the mayor of a city that has a pothole for every half-metre of road. Maybe we are just grateful for the semblance of normality.

Power shortages are so common that most people just resign themselves to using whatever else there is for fuel, i.e. wood, gel (that’s hard to explain if you don’t know what it is), paraffin; and to going to bed at whatever time ZESA (the power company) determines. I was in Harare a few weeks ago, living the tough life (no, really), and I discovered that there are loads of people who can’t afford the $1 it costs to buy one litre of paraffin in many townships. Eggs are R2 each, and bread is still about $1. Many Bulawayans have decided South African (GM or genetically modified, they say) chicken sucks, even though it costs about R30 for 2 kg, and now prefer to buy local chicken, which costs between $5 and $7. We’re still consuming a lot of South African products, although Zim stuff is gradually reappearing on the shelves. For those of you less fluent in exchange rates, the USD : Rand rate in Bulawayo is 1:7.5, and 1:10 in Harare (-which, incidentally, infuriates Bulawayans).

In truth, life is so much better that every time we talk about “the way things were”, it’s like a dream. In spite of the problems I mention above, what everyone goes on about is, at least we have food now. I think we were under a lot of pressure, but no one really realized just how much until it lifted… There is an overwhelming sense of relief, still, and it comes with euphoria… Which I experienced second-hand when there was a Tuku (Oliver Mtukudzi) show near where I live. Since I couldn’t sleep, I lay awake wondering when the last time was when I heard Bulawayans having so much fun (I assume) into the early hours of the morning. I noticed it at Easter, too, when the road to Harare (again, near where I live) was lined with hundreds of would-be travellers, many of whom had been unable to see relatives in other parts for years. And I notice it when I read the paper, and see signs of cautious optimism, with people able to put in classified ads for things like birthdays and so on, and with the business section of the paper full of stories of growth (-wait a minute, the paper actually HAS a business section again!). I see people walking into a shop to buy a cellphone, and handing over $2 or $5 to get a sim card. I hear people making plans to buy cars, and I see people shopping for clothes, and living semi-normal lives.

I guess that’s what we call hope.

Björgunaraðgerð

2010-04-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hvernig gæti ég hafa ímyndað mér að það ætti fyrir mér að liggja, að bjarga tveim Norðmönnum í vanda, á þessum sólríka laugardegi? Það varð hinsvegar raunin, þó svo endanleg ninðurstað þessarar aðgerðar liggi ekki endanlega fyrir enn.

Það kom símtal frá Kvisthyltingnum danska, sem nú er staddur á ráðstefnu í þeirri merku borg Nottingham, þar sem Hrói höttur gerði garðinn frægan. Í dag hyllir undir ráðstefnulok og ugað er að heimferð. Þar kemur babb í bátinn, eins og flestum hlýtur að vera ljóst.

Þetta símtal fól í sér að fela mér að leita uppi mögulegar leiðir frá Englandi yfir á meginland Evrópu. Þar var nefnd til sögu hafnarborgin Harwich á austurströndinni. Þaðan eru ferjusiglingar til ýmissa borga. Ég hóf leit að fari og komst brátt að því að þar er fátt um fína drætti. Næsta ferja sem ekki er fullbókuð fer til Esbjerg á föstudaginn kemur, 26. apríl. Ég leitaði því eftir fari til einhvers staðar sem kallast Hook of Holland, en þangað er rúmlega 6 tíma sigling. Fyrsta ferð þangað þar sem enn var laust, reyndist vera að morgni þriðjudags næstkomandi.

Þetta tjáði ég Kvisthyltingnum símleiðis. Hann ákvað að taka þetta far þar sem ekkart annað var í kortunum. Að því sögðu fór hann þess á leit við mig að ég bókaði einnig tvo samráðstefnugesti hans í umrædda ferð. Þetta voru þeir Vegard Ölstörn og Bo Haugen, örugglega miklir öndvegismenn, norskir.

Ég komst í gegnum bókunarferlið og núr eru þeir félagarnir þrír bókaðir í ferju frá Harwich til Hook of Holland, n.k. þrijudag kl. 9:00 að morgni. Hvernig þier ætla sér síðan að komast til Norðurlandanna þaðan er eitthvað sem ekki liggur enn ljóst fyrir, en samkvæmt áreiðanlegum upplýsingum frá Fyrrelunden eru og verða allar almenningssamgöngur í Evrópu fullbókaðar eins lengi og séð verður.

Nú bíð ég spenntur eftir fregnum af því, hvort bókun mín reynist verða sú björgun sem endanlega leiðir til þess að tveir norðmenn og einn Kvisthyltingur komast til síns heima áður en langt um líður.

A Name is a Name

2010-02-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

A cross between a documentary and a feature film, A Name is a Name is instead, a classic ‘road film,’ made largely on the proverbial and literal road over a period of seven months in the Republic of Macedonia. At its heart, the film is about a group of people who call themselves Macedonians and what it means to them to be known as such.

الكتب وجهات نظر عدد كانون الثاني / يناير: مريم المسلمة

2010-02-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

الكتب وجهات نظر عدد كانون الثاني / يناير: مريم المسلمة

PORTUGAL - Costa Vicentina: the real Algarve

2010-01-24T20:00:00.000-08:00

From The Times January 23, 2010

Skip the golf - the awe-inspiring beaches, cliffs, pine forests and rivers of Costa Vicentina are well above par

All you need is love....

2009-12-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.starbucksloveproject.com/#/main/

Microsoft stop FYROMing me !!!

2009-12-03T03:43:00.000-08:00

Microsoft stop FYROMing me !!! Say Macedonia !!!

Ecuadorian people

2009-11-20T16:13:00.000-08:00

La memoria debe ser un arma revolucionaria

2009-11-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

La memoria debe ser un arma revolucionaria

Es imprescindible que comience estas palabras evocando la memoria del gran compañero Cintio Vitier, quien fuera hasta su muerte presidente de honor del Centro de Estudios Martianos y ejemplo vivo de lo que es, de lo que debe ser un martiano. Pues esta denominación no es dable aplicarla primordialmente a quien esté informado de la vida y la obra del Maestro, conocidas en plenitud por Cintio, sino, sobre todo, a aquel cuya conducta esté regida por sus lecciones. Y tal fue el caso del autor de Ese sol del mundo moral, quien nos dejó páginas imperecederas sobre Martí y, a la vez, fue fiel discípulo suyo.

Esto último se puso de manifiesto en su defensa lúcida y apasionada de las mejores realizaciones de la Revolución Cubana, cuya filiación martiana fue proclamada desde el 26 de julio de 1953 por el propio Fidel.

Este Encuentro se realiza en vísperas de conmemorarse el bicentenario de la fecha que se da como inicio de la emancipación de nuestra América, lo que Martí llamó en Caracas, en 1881, “el poema de 1810”, al que él quiso, dijo, “añadir una estrofa”. Pero Martí sabía bien que tal poema empezó mucho antes, pues se remonta a revueltas indígenas y alzamientos de esclavos contra los invasores europeos y sus sucesores, se hizo realidad en Haití entre 1791 y 1804, ocurrió en 1809 en Ecuador y Bolivia, y se retrasó en otros países, como Cuba, donde se dilató hasta 1868.

...

Malnutrition in Guatemala: A national shame | The Economist

2009-11-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

Malnutrition in Guatemala: A national shame | The Economist

Zimbabwe now

2009-10-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated, but I find I don't have much to say about Zimbabwe at all. (Perhaps I am one of those people with much to say when things are going wrong, but who are reluctant to shower praises for things done well!). Things are moving along, and I agree with the friend who said that perhaps the government should leave things to the people, because they tend to get things going again without a fuss. I have the same contempt for governmental interference, I fear.

Bulawayo is abuzz again (and those who know will tell you that if Bulawayo is alive, then things must really be better, lol). Buildings are getting their first lick of paint in ten years. Every second shop is a supermarket. We even spot the occasional tourist. Everyone is complaining about the exchange rates- most people earn their salary in US dollars, but everything is priced in rand (except utility bills)- and when we first switched to foreign currency, the rate of the rand to the dollar was 10:1. Now it's 8 or 7.5:1- which means that salaries have actually been eroded (since almost no one is getting a raise at the minute). Most people seem to want us to switch completely to the dollar -which, to my mind, would be a nightmare. I am campaigning for the rand, myself.

Things are very upbeat on the street, if people have rather got used to griping... No one will tell you they are happier now that they can eat normally but believe me, they are :) Bigger things are still an issue- like power supply- but I know a few people who have even been able to buy cars in the last few months, something that had become completely impossible for most. I imagine the struggle is still uphill, but we're getting somewhere on the ground, if not exactly in government.

Image: flower seller at work at the City hall, Bulawayo.

Budapest sightseeing from a bus in the water!

2009-09-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

OK, this was really spooky when I first spotted it, riding through the Chain Bridge, a really beautiful spot in the city.
This is the latest services offered to tourists who would like to get a better view on land and from the river dividing Budapest into Buda and Pest.
If you are ever around, it is a great way to get around and you definitely won't get into a traffic jam once in the water!

2009-07-24T05:32:00.000-07:00

First of all I'd like to apologize for the mistake I've made. I wrote in French for an English-written blog. That message was destined to my french blog. Senegal, in West Africa is a frenchspeaking country. A little number of people speak English. Dakar is its capital. Its population is growing and there's less and less jobs available. That's why many young people are trying whatever they can do to immigrate to better areas such as Europe. They even risked their lives to go to Spain by means of traditional boats. Many died on the way. But they don't care. They said they prefer to die than to stay useless. They are ashamed to be supported by their parents instead of helping Them.However the man in the picture is a great example for those younsters. He's associated with a friend. They make home juice and sell it in the streets of Dakar. He told that he earns a decent living with this activity. Furthermore he's a breadwinner. I believe he is a real role model.

A name is a name

2009-07-24T04:45:00.000-07:00

A film by Sigurjon Einarsson abaut a nation held hostage becouse it's name http://www.anameisaname.com/

HOME

2009-07-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Please watch this film

(click on the photo)

It´s called HOME by

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Here is the trailer.

2009-06-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

Talented President

2009-06-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

Can your President do this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rbUH_iVjYw

Mine can!

Microsoft say Macedonia

2009-06-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Say Macedonia is a campaign which supports the usage of the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia in the system and aplicative software of the Microsoft Corporation. The campaign started on June 17th 2007 when the official web page was launched. The goal of the campaign is to animate the institutions of the Republic of Macedonia and the whole macedonian society to find a final solution - usage of the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia in the software applications of the Microsoft Corporation. It is the campaigns position that Microsoft is building a non-principle policy towards the Republic of Macedonia in the last 10 years, using the temporary reference FYROM instead of the constitutional name.
This is confirmed also by the newest operating system Windows Vista, as well as by all other program packages, where the FYROM reference is used.
The campaign also fights against the usage of the Macedonian (FYROM) language in the list of languages, where only Macedonian should be written, since there is no such language as Macedonian (FYROM).
The campaign is going to take place in several phases, where open letters to the involved parties will be sent, as well as petitions, announcements and other activities. The idea is to get continuous support from the media in the Republic of Macedonia. One of the important characteristics of this campaign is the fact that all activities are performed exclusively via electronic way. In that way the campaign wants to give its support to the development of the informatics society in the Republic of Macedonia.

1 Microsoft say Macedonia Facebook group

2 Microsoft say Macedonia YouTube video clip

3 Microsoft say Macedonia pettion

4 Microsoft say Macedonia Main Blog

Obama in Cairo

2009-06-04T05:52:00.000-07:00

From the historical edifice, Cairo University, Barak Obama gave his speech today addressing the Islamic world.

Rodrigo Rosenberg's Video

2009-05-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

In Guatemala we are living the biggest scandal any government has had in our political history. A prominent lawyer was murdered while he was riding his bike on 10 May 09. What the murderer did not know is that he made a video three days before. In this video he says that if you are watching the video is because he was murdered by the President of Guatemala, the first lady, the private secretary of the President and an entrepreneur from GT.

Here are the links of the three videos posted on youtube so you can watch for yourself. I'll keep you posted of the crisis we're living in at this moment. We have people against the President a in favor of him. Our fragile democracy is threatened by this scandal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxZptUp9a44

It's been a long time since I don't update posts from Guatemala and it's sad that I do it again under this circumstances, but I just wanted to share with you all this story that seems to be a great script for a movie.

First 4 Kuwaiti women who made it to the Parliament

2009-05-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Kuwaiti national Assembly (Parliament) elections came after a dissolving decree from Kuwait's ruler Sheikh Sabah Al-Sabah, that was justified by the lack of cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government. The most surprising in the 2009 elections was the winning of 4 women (from 3 different districts, out of 5 districts). Women in Kuwait were granted their political rights in 2005, and in 2006 elections were held but no woman won any of the 50 chairs in the parliament, now in 2009 FOUR women made it!

The women elected to the 50-member national assembly in Kuwait are, from left, Aseel al-Awadi, Rola Dashti, Salwa al-Jassar and Massouma al-Mubarak. Women gained the right to vote and run for office in 2005, but Islamists urged voters not to elect any.

These 4 Kuwaiti women are the first to make it to the parliament and by that they are placed in the first line of decision making and are official speakers of the people in Kuwait and the Gulf countries, however with this lovely achievement the over all newly elected members in the up coming National Assembly are not so different from the previous ones, there are changes and very surprising results for the increase & decrease in the popularity of some very old candidates who used to be in the top ranks, I personally do not have my hopes up but wish for the best and wish for this parliament to last longer than the one proceeding it.

In my personal opinion the two biggest highlights in the 2009 elections are the women wining 4 chairs, for the first time will enter our National Assembly, and the Kuwaiti people's wish for change that reflects their hopes for ending the increasing uncooperative relation between the Government and the National Assembly.

I am very proud of the winning of four Kuwaiti women and hope for more awareness and focus towards the really important issues that will make a new brighter Kuwaiti future.

YouTube finally said Macedonia

2009-05-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

About one week ago YouTube has finally recognized Macedonia under it's constitutional name. It is very happy moment for all YouTube users and all Macedonians who participated in this campaign. After three months of active nagotiation with YouTube administrators we finally received positived answer. Thank You YouTube for recognizing my country! Thank You YouTube for telling the truth! Thank You YouTube for saying Macedonia.

Angola Prison Rodeo

2009-04-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Would you take your children to a prison for a day’s enjoyment? Twice a year (in April and October), you can do just that at the Angola prison in Louisiana. The inmates stage a rodeo and craft fair that is open to the public and many families attend. The events include bareback-riding, wild-horse race, buddy pick-up, and wild cow milking. The proceeds from the gate, concessions, and craft sales benefit the inmates' recreational and educational programs.

Some pictures of the activities can be seen here and here.

Sono Otoko by Shotaro Ikenami

2009-04-29T00:38:00.000-07:00

I went to see the play "Sono Otoko" originally from the novel written by Shotaro Ikenami. It is a story of a man who lived from the end of Edo era to Showa era(1850-1938), when Japan was dramatically changing by adopting european culture.
Here is his biography. You can read some of his books in English.

"Capitães de Abril"

2009-04-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

Coup d'état in Portugal 1974.
Almost bloodless revolution that overthrown the supressive dictatorship. ("Capitães de Abril", movie 2000)

My guest post on Zimbabwe at alasdairmunn.com

2009-04-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

A friend, Alasdair, asked me to guest on his blog. It was fun to write, sort of reviewing the last ten years in Zim through a "retrospectoscope", and at the end I felt pretty emotional. Anyway, the post follows below. Sorry it's a bit long.
_______________________

If there is one thing I heard over and over during the time of Zimbabwe’s worst economic troubles, it was, “How on earth are you surviving?” This from both Zimbabweans and foreigners. Inevitably the answer would be, “We make a plan”, because that’s the Zimbabwean way, and that’s what we have always done.

It’s a little hard to explain to an outsider. There are many who have said that if what happened to Zimbabwe had happened to any other country in southern Africa, the result would have been far worse. My personal opinion is that what happened to us was more than the result of the farm invasions and poor government policy. We became caught up in a perfect storm of post-independence euphoria and a certain lack of attention to warning signs, religious adherence to poorly crafted World Bank and IMF plans, and perhaps an over-reliance on one aspect of our economy- agriculture. Well before the farm invasions, the Zimbabwe dollar was showing signs of stress, and the drought years of the 1990s had already put pressure on our economy. I remember the worries of farmers in the 1990s, the talk of the national herd being depleted, and people wondering how on earth one could exchange Z$5 for US$1. Pretty funny to think about now.

It feels like we’ve “been sifted”. It is hard to imagine, looking back, how we ever survived the season that followed. I was one of those Zimbabweans who stayed (although I enjoyed a brief hiatus in Botswana, when I had left for personal reasons). The first hint of trouble stirring was when I was at the University of Zimbabwe, and the suppression of the usual demonstrations by students was becoming increasingly violent, leading eventually to the death of a student. We heard whispers then of a party being formed with worker’s union roots, and sure enough, just over a year later, the MDC was formed. In 1998 we had the bread riots, when Morgan Tsvangirai became a national voice, and those riots were the symptom of the economic mess that was coming…. Things went downhill from there- and it’s been ten years.

How did we survive? How did we survive the fuel queues which eventually went away when there was no fuel to be had anymore? How did we survive the stacks and stacks of cash which later being such a source of merriment, the “bricks” we carried around in such small denominations that we had to hand over a brick to get a loaf of bread- when we got bread? How did we manage the hours or days or weeks of power and water cuts? How did we manage the cash shortages, or the empty shelves at the supermarket which meant that there was no food to be had locally? Or how we have dealt with falling ill and going to hospital to find no drugs, no doctors, no nurses, no food, nothing but a bed?

We made a plan.

First we queued for ourselves and other people, and made jokes about fuel queues while we stood around in them and made new friends. Then we bought our fuel in Botswana or South Africa, eventually getting fuel traders- with tankers and small vans- to bring us our fuel in tankers or drums or 5-litre plastic containers. Cross-border traders- women who left their families to cross borders to Zambia or Botswana or South Africa stood in queues at service stations for us. We walked or cycled to work, come rain or shine. We drove at forty kilometres per hour to save fuel. We got the cash somehow, and haggled and converted and counted to a trillion in our heads, and bartered and stayed in business until we couldn’t anymore, then we tried a different business. Supermarkets sold tea leaves and sugar and jam, or nothing, but opened their doors day after day. Bread came and went, and changed in size (so standard didn’t mean the same thing from week to week), and the price changed daily when bread was to be had, and sometimes even when it wasn’t. We built fires to cook over, and went to people with boreholes to get water, or got generators. We used candles or battery-powered lamps for lighting, or we slept early. We learnt that even though there was no schedule to the water cuts, we could work our way around them by doing all our laundry when we heard the trickle into the water geyser. We learnt to boil or filter our drinking water, and not to keep too much meat in the house. We learnt to do all our shopping across borders- from perishable food to dry goods and clothing, and got quite handy with other people’s currencies. And we learnt to buy not just for our households, but for others, too. We didn’t “get sick” until the cholera outbreak, which was more illness than we could handle by staying at home and nursing ourselves back to health.

And through it all we griped when we couldn’t handle it anymore, or left the country to find something better, to send money back home; but mostly we just stayed put and made jokes about it, and managed somehow. We looked to extended family, and looked after each other. We had braais (barbeques) when we had meat, and let down our hair. We worked hard in between, knowing that if we didn’t, we might not eat the following day. We did without movies and the mall, and when we went out for coffee, we made do with whatever there was- tea, soft drinks, black coffee, a slice of cake or lemon meringue or whatever was on the menu. Sometimes it got hilarious; we went out to a pizza place one night, and all there was on the menu was a pizza base with tomato and garlic on it- like a marguerita pizza, but without cheese- no meat, no other vegetables. We laughed and ate.

I spoke to people in business who stayed open waiting for things to change, even though they couldn’t pay their staff. I talked to farmers who had had their farms taken away, and were now running a retail business, selling no name brand cleaning products, and earning a living that way. I spoke to factory workers who were going in to work once a week, and earned their salary in kind (whatever foodstuffs were available), rather than cash. I spoke to a woman who had travelled from Chivhu to Bulawayo for medical treatment (about three hours by road), because although there is a hospital there, there was no point in trying to get treatment there. As they shared their stories, I wondered about the thing about the Zimbabwean that made them deal with everything with such grace. Everyone struggled, but we managed somehow.

And our future? I believe in us, truly I do. If the same can-do attitude can be applied to the mammoth challenges facing us, we will recover. It may not even take as long as so many seem to think. Maybe it’s a matter of there being nowhere left to go but up; or perhaps just as with people, the national character had been strengthened by adversity. I do know this for sure: seeing how people tackled an impossible situation, and worked hard, and kept smiling, made me proud to be Zimbabwean.

Happy Easter

2009-04-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone!

Coinciding with the holdy Christian holidays these days..is a an Old Egyptian Holiday, 20th of April, "Shamm el Nesseim" which literally means "Inhaling the Breeze" or let's Say..it's the welcoming note of Spring!

It's a Spring festival, celebrated since the Ancient Egyptians!

Tradition went on to have fun colouring boiled eggs, usuing natural colours and artificial ones, eating smoked salty fish, and onions...having breakfast and enjoying this Colourful day in parks! It's a day off in Egypt...where all Egyptians celebrate it almost the same way in a way or another, however poor or rich they are, of whatever social background!

On Hotels, parks, big venues, musical concerts and parties are held to enjoy the day on the modern style! Yet this does not mean that you'd escape eating the very salty smoked fish prepared for that day! (which I'm no big fan of by the way :D)

This morning, as a family ritual, I prepared the colours and my mum has boiled the eggs..and I've called upon my younger sisters to enjoy the Spring breeze that's all over the place! :)

Happy Easter!

p.s. photo taken this morning part of the artwork we practised this morning :D

Palabras en Lobatera

2009-04-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

Palabras de Salutación, a cargo del Licenciado José Ernesto Becerra Golindano, en el Acto de Homenaje con motivo de la celebración de los 103 años de la Fundación de Banda Municipal Sucre de Lobatera, y conmemoración de las Bodas de Oro como Cronista de la Ciudad de San Cristóbal, del Ilustre y Honorable Ciudadano Dr. José Joaquín Villamizar Molina, organizado por la Fundación Cultural “Centro de Cultura y Recreo”, en Lobatera el 19 de abril de 2009.

Era el tercer jueves de abril en 1906, cuando el Padre Morales fundó la Banda Sucre de Lobatera. Hoy, 37.261 días después de esa fecha especial, tenemos que saludarnos todos con la satisfacción de acompañar a la Banda en su aniversario.
También nos reunimos para saludar al Cronista de San Cristóbal en su año jubilar. Llega el Dr. José Joaquín Villamizar Molina, Decano de los Cronistas de Venezuela, al cincuentenario como responsable de la conservación de la memoria de la Capital del Táchira.
Estos dos aniversarios nos han convocado en las tierras que hace mas de 400 años ocupara el hato de Don Pedro de Torres. Estamos aquí para cumplir con la Banda, recordando que ha permanecido en funciones durante 14 diferentes períodos presidenciales de Venezuela, iniciándose desde el del General Cipriano Castro, Estamos aquí para cumplir con el Cronista de 10 lustros, caso único en el Táchira y en Venezuela.
Me permito expresar mi agradecimiento al Dr. Roberto Esteban Avendaño, Presidente de la Fundación Cultural “Centro Lectura y Recreo”, de Lobatera, por la invitación para presentar estas breves palabras de salutación. El Dr. Avendaño, Presidente de la Academia de Historia del Táchira, Miembro Correspondiente de las Academias de Historia del Zulia, de Norte de Santander y de Boyacá, y eminente Docente Universitario, sabe de mi afecto ancestral por Lobatera y por consiguiente mi satisfacción por este encargo. De Lobatera fue mi antepasado José Antonio Pérez Arellano, mi tatarabuelo, nacido aquí hace mas de 150 años, y su señora madre Gregoria Arellano Ramírez, nacida aquí a finales del siglo 18, y quien casara en Lobatera con el grítense Juan Evangelista Pérez Mora. Este saludo inicial tiene estas y otras notas personales que me acercan en el afecto a Lobatera y su gente, y que no podría dejar de expresar, como el recuerdo de mi primo hermano Antonio Gómez, fallecido también aquí hace pocos años.
También me satisface participar en un acto que rinde homenaje al Dr. Villamizar Molina, quien comparte su condición de Individuo de Número de la Academia de Historia del Táchira con el Dr. Avendaño y conmigo, al igual que su membresía de las Academias de Historia del Zulia, Norte de Santander y Boyacá. El Dr. Villamizar exhibe, además de su respetada trayectoria en los caminos de la historia y la crónica, medio siglo de ejercicio como Médico Psiquiatra, digna trayectoria que indudablemente será presentada mas tarde. Tengo que decir también que tengo una gran amistad con el Dr. Villamizar, paisano de mi esposa.
La ocasión es entonces estupenda, magnífica, pues Lobatera, uno de los cuatro pilares de la Provincia del Táchra; Lobatera, generosa en el aporte humano que permite la aparición de Borotá, Michelena, San Pedro del Río y Colón; Lobatera, la del fulgente arrebol que está en el oro del aire y del sol, felicita y enaltece a su hija la Banda Municipal Sucre, merecedora por méritos que van mas allá de su antigüedad, para solazar con su alta calidad musical a quienes tienen la dicha de escuchar sus instrumentos musicales. Y aun le sobra generosidad a esta querida Lobatera, para felicitar y enaltecer al hijo de Santa Ana del Táchira, adoptado primero por San Cristóbal y el Táchira, y ya querido y admirado en otras regiones de Venezuela y del mundo.
Si hiciéramos buena la afirmación de que no morimos totalmente mientras se nos recuerde, habría que considerar que en este acto, la rememoración hace que viva el Padre Pedro María Morales, Cobrense que ejerció como Párroco de Lobatera durante mas de 20 años y fundador de la Banda Sucre. El Padre Morales antes de venir a esta población fue Teniente Cura en Táriba y Michelena, tierras de mis afectos, y antes aún había sido compañero de estudios sacerdotales de mi tío abuelo José Lucio Becerra en el Colegio del Corazón de Jesus, que fundara el Padre Jáuregui en La Grita, y compañero en el Seminario de Curazao.
Estamos aquí, pues, para honrar a la Banda Municipal Sucre y al Dr. José Joaquín Villamizar Molina, y corriendo el riesgo de ser poco original, debemos recordar a los Lobaterenses y a los que han venido de fuera, que Honrar Honra. Honores que significan no solo la manifestación de voluntad de la actual generación de quienes aquí viven, sino que implican trascendencias históricas que tendríamos que remontar al altivo y orgulloso aborigen, que no desaparecerá jamás en nuestra memoria, no solo por la voz del nombre de la población y otros lugares, sino por que perpetuó en la piedra su presencia, su cultura y su saber. Inolvidable entonces el anónimo Caribe que regó esta tierra con su sudor y su sangre desde hace mil años, y cuyos códigos genéticos sobreviven en muchos de los habitantes de estas tierras.
Honores que también se remontan al emprendedor español, que tal vez podríamos representar en el vallesolitano Torres Vera, sus acompañantes y sus descendientes. Su sangre y su sudor también fueron parte de su aporte a esta tierra, y su cultura está presente en elementos como el reticulado en el trazado de las calles, o las casas de teja con patios y corredores. Así las cosas, resulta posible decir hoy, en este abril de 2009, que podemos responder a la inquietud propuesta por el Cronista de la Ciudad, Dr. Samir Abdalá Sanchez Escalante, cuyos numerosos méritos sería poco menos que redundante recordar en esta ciudad, responderíamos a esa propuesta planteada al final del libro sobre Lobatera publicado hace 16 años, de manera muy afirmativa, que si podemos seguir afirmando con propiedad que Lobatera es y seguirá siendo una tierra de pioneros.
Bienvenidos al Acto de Homenaje con motivo de la celebración de los 103 años de la Fundación de Banda Municipal Sucre de Lobatera, y conmemoración de las Bodas de Oro como Cronista de la Ciudad de San Cristóbal, del Ilustre y Honorable Ciudadano Dr. José Joaquín Villamizar Molina.

Jellfish World (!!!)

2009-04-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

I was really depressed when I saw those jellyfish. This area is full of dirty. Almost each country that has sea coast have same problem. I have taken this picture last weekend in Istanbul. You see whole of jelly fish on the picture. In order to solve this problem, I think, both people and local authorities has to work together.

Cameroon: Politician Wants Prostitutes Arrested

2009-04-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Albert Samba Ngwana, Chairman of Cardinal Democratic Party (CDP) of Cameroon, has urged the Cameroonian Government to arrest and prosecute all known prostitutes in the Country, insisting that they are criminals.
Angered by an interview granted to a local tabloid by a woman, presenting herself as President of Northwest Prostitutes, the CDP chair, has in a letter dated April 6,2009,addressed to the Governor of the Northwest Region of Cameroon, called for the immediate arrest of the chief Prostitute and co.
Below is the letter, read on:

The Governor,
N.W. Region,
Bamenda,
Cameroon.

Your Excellency Sir,

“PRESIDENT OF NW PROSTITUTES SAYS THEY EARN THRICE MORE THAN CIVIL SERVANTS”

The Star Newspaper of today Monday April 6, 2009 published a lengthy interview Ndi Ndi in Bamenda had with Ndongla Mairo, where she proclaimed herself as the President of Northwest Prostitutes. A union they started in 2006 with about 325 prostitutes.

Your Excellency, the whole Nation was shocked and scandalized by this revelation.

Prostitution is an offence punishable under section 343 of the Cameroon Penal Code. The punishment ranges from six months to five years imprisonment or a fine of 20,000 to 500,000 CFA.

We want you to instruct the department in charge of crimes to investigate and arrest the culprits at once and bring them to justice.Cameroon is running down to chaos and immorality and this must stop.

In February this year the Wouri SDO took a bold step to clear the Douala Municipality of prostitutes, by rounding them up at night.

We applauded his action and asked other SDOs to do same.

The N.W. Prostitutes have declared themselves through their president as practicing prostitution and should be arrested at once and tried according to the law.

Mr. Governor, we hope that you will act swiftly.

Yours faithfully,
Chief A.S. Ngwana,
National Chairman,Cardinal Democratic Party.

Copy:
-SDO Bamenda
-Government delegate Bamenda
-Commissioner of Police BamendaChief of National Security Bamenda

Visit El Salvador!

2009-04-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

El Salvador it's becoming a huge touristic destination. With only 21000 square kilometers, and in order to establish a comparison Texas has 421231 square kilometers (261797 square miles) that means that the whole country fits more than 20 times in Texas. You will be able to find beaches, mountain, and all the stuff related to those destinations surf, rafting, rapel, cross country, motocross, enduro, etc.

In the streets of El Salvador it's very common to find foreigners backpacking from all over the world, germans, australians, british, canadians, french, etc, etc, etc they like to visit the places related to the colony as well as the places where took place the civil war that ended 17 years ago. Chalatenango, Cabañas, Morazan, Cuscatlan and La Libertad are the most common places where we can find lots of information regarding touristic destinations.

There is a common saying after visiting this wonderful place: You will be coming back, because you will fall in love with the humble salvadoran smile and the human warmth that its inhabitants transmit which is a trademark.

Topics from 192 countries: Indigenous ethnic groups

2009-04-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Topics from 192 countries: Indigenous ethnic groups

Indigenous ethnic groups

2009-04-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Due to its position as point of crossing and center of transport from their beginnings, the people and the culture of Panama reflect their international origins. The people and their culture have roots everywhere in the world, resulting in a tolerance atmosphere in which people get along with others well.

Its population is a crucible of races that includes a 62% of half-caste, 14% of African, 10% of Spaniards, 5% mulattos and 5% Indians. The Jewish, Chinese, Arab and Hindustani communities play an important role in the commercial sector. The 7 indigenous ethnic groups who live in Panama are scattered by all the territory, in regions very located.

The Emberá live in the borders of the Chagres river, and the Wounaan inhabits the area of Darien, the impenetrable jungle that separates Panama of Colombia. In spite of the distance, both ethnic groups share customs and clothes, taparrabos or " paruma " for them, and colorists skirts and naked torso for them, in addition to bracelets and necklaces of silver currencies. However, their languages are totally different.T

The Kunas are probably the indigenous group that more jealously it has maintained his culture, and live in the archipelago of San Blas. The women show to the mourning taking a red and yellow handkerchief in the head, and a longitudinal black line crosses their noses; the red is extracted of a called fruit jagua. Their dances are danced to the compass of flutes of bamboo and maracas done of pumpkins and seeds.

The Ngöbe-Bugle are the majority ethnic group in Panama and inhabits the provinces of Veraguas, Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí. Usually they work in the coffee plantations, sugar bowls and bananeras, since these provinces concentrate most of the agricultural production of the country. Their conditions of life are quite bad, and live such in large cabins within coffee plantations, that there are been crossing. They make " the very " colorists Chácaras, purses, and "chaquiras", geometric necklaces polychromes facts with obtained accounts of shells and bones.

The Teribe (Nazo) live near the borders of the river of the same name, are excellent constructors of canoes, hammocks, drums, and wood statures, and their dances very are varied, like gallote, and the dance of the tiger (there are no tigers here, but it sees that they know them). The Bokotá lives in Bocas del Toro and their dyed vegetal fiber hats are very famous. Finally, the Bri-bri live in the border with Costa Rica, in the Yorkin river. Their customs are similar to those of the Bokotá.

http://www.ahpanama.com

Tuberculosis: Right Action Is The Panacea

2009-03-31T03:13:00.001-07:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu

''Are your parents aware that you are sick?”
Ngwa, a Cameroonian, provocatively asked his classmate, John, who had just stopped coughing and was catching his breath.

“I don’t blame you. I didn’t buy it?” fumed John in reply. Even though John, looking frail, had been coughing with difficulty, for over two weeks he did not deem it necessary to consult a medical doctor to ascertain the cause of his troubling cough.

Why? He probably thought he had not had enough pains to feel threatened by his ailment. He was ignorant that he had TB, whose victims are stigmatised in many regions

But he would later be told in hospital that he had Active TB, and advised to start and take his treatment seriously.

TB is an infection caused by a bacterium, called mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is a dangerious, but curable disease, which has killed millions of people worldwide. Millions of people are still living with this infirmity despite increased efforts by health professionals to eliminate it from the surface of the earth

Health experts are agreed that, TB spreads through the air and usually affects one’s lungs. But other body parts such as bones, kidneys, spine and brain can also be infected

Indeed, there are two types of TB :( 1) TB Infection or Latent TB, meaning the bacterium is present but is not making the carrier sick; that also means the carrier can not spread the disease. (2) Active TB: the bacterium is present and is making the carrier sick; that suggests the carrier may be able to spread the disease.

Health is wealth. But unfortunately, many Africans -especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, for several reasons among which is poverty (weak financial power), don’t take their health seriously. They don’t respect their bodies and find no reason to give them special attention.

When you advise them to do check-ups or go for treatment at the early stage of an infection, this may be what you get in reply: “Don’t worry .I am feeling better. I don’t have money. I will be OK soon”

It is true that the body can get rid of some ailments without you resorting to medical treatment, but when an ailment is punishing you or taking long to disappear, there is that urgent need to seek medical advice and even moral support.

Some Africans forget that when one person in a family or community is sick other relations are affected and or infected in case of contagious disease.

The stress resulting from the sickness of a loved one could be financial, emotional, psychological or even physical-all obstacles to happiness

Suzy Prudden, one great mind, noted, “Your body is your vehicle for life. As long as you are here, live in it.
Love, honour, respect and cherish it, treat it well, and it will serve you in kind''

There are many killer- diseases such as AIDS, cancer, malaria, diabetes and tuberculosis (TB)
While some as AIDS are incurable such, others such as TB are curable. How nice to know that a killer disease is curable!

This writer’s particular concern here is on TB. Every March 24 is celebrated as World TB Day. That was the case last 24 March .This day is intended to celebrate the lives and stories of people affected by TB and those involved in the global war against this killer disease.
Cameroon, a Central African country with rising cases of TB, was also actively involved in this year’s celebration. In 2007, for example, it was estimated that Cameroon had 35,556 new TB cases and Cameroonians who were living with TB totalled 36.088.

World-wide in 2007 it was estimated that about 15 million people were living with TB despite sustained efforts to contain it.

When John, mentioned earlier, was coughing he did not suspect it could be a symptom of TB. Of course, he did not know that people with active tuberculosis often feel tired, and have a long lasting cough. Other TB symptoms may include weight loss, a fever or difficult breathing, chest pain, bloody sputum and night sweats

“Thank God that I was diagnosed with TB only. When I started coughing my classmates were claiming that I was an AIDS patient. That frightened me much and I was afraid to go to the hospital for testing .But I gathered courage and went for it. I was tested for both TB and HIV and I have only TB.I am already on drugs,” John who did not know how he got infected, but accepted that he was a heavy alcohol consumer, told me. “I have made my friends to understand that I am HIV negative. I am a free man.”

The people with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis far exceed those who have already developed active TB.

Health professionals often prescribe particular antibiotics for people diagnosed with the TB bacteria to take for some time, so to kill the infection, so it must not later develop into active TB.

And these bacteria –carriers are warned to strictly respect their drug prescription and to report any side effects as soon as need be.

For those who have developed active TB, they are prescribed a combination of antibiotics to take simultaneously so that the TB does not become resistant to treatment. TB patients require regular checkups to ensure they stay free of the tuberculosis disease, even after completing the full course of treatment that is usually six moths.

Dr. Matilda Ako Arrey, who is regional coordinator of Cameroon TB Control Programme for the Southwest Region with a population of over 1.3 million people ,on Radio Buea Health Updates slot, said, “TB cases are increasing in the region( Cameroon). Due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, TB cases are increasing.”

The Southwest region of Cameroon has 16 TB treatment centres. In 2008, Wane Victor, a health worker assisting Dr Ako Arrey revealed that 1112 (pulmonary) TB cases were diagnosed, adding that 41 started treatment and later stopped.

The other nine regions of Cameroon have their own TB statistics

“Defaulting patients are a problem to us”, cried Dr. Ako Arrey, insisting that sensitisation on TB must continue. “We are not satisfied with the level of sensitisation here.”

She noted that those who are mostly at risk of contracting the TB infection are smokers, abusive alcohol drinkers, those poorly fed, and those living in poorly ventilated houses. She called for healthy living habits.

TB and HIV /AIDS seem to be in love. That is why when one has TB he is tested for HIV and vice versa so that proper treatment can begin right away.

HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system and so someone with HIV is likely to have TB
“A weakened immune system allows TB to reproduce unchecked within the body, causing illness,” according to one health writer, Mark Cichocki R.N of About.com.

“In HIV infected people, TB infection of the lungs or anywhere else in the body is considered an AIDS-defining condition. In other words, a person with both HIV and active TB has AIDS.”

There is no doubt that TB is a dangerous but curable disease; and that Cameroon ,like other countries, is making efforts ,supported by international organisations, to combat it.But such efforts need to be intensified at all levels.

But the panacea to TB, many now argue, is taking the right action at the right time. That would mean massive and continued sensitisation and education of citizens on all what the disease is about, subsidized treatment of patients, monitoring of patients on drugs, making TB drugs readily available, discouraging abusive smoking and alcohol consumption that are risk factors for TB; a call for improved diet and other healthy living habits such as enough sleep, regular exercise, strict respect of drug prescription.
But above all, action must be taken by all citizens within their means to pay greater attention to their health by going for regular medical check-ups. Health is wealth, they say.

Sarkozy Invites Biya to France to Defrost Bilateral Relations

2009-03-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu
The apparent icy relationship between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Paul Biya may be getting warm.President Sarkozy, widely believed by political observers not to be too friendly towards President Biya who has ruled Cameroon for over 26 years, has, at long last, extended an official invitation to the Cameroonian president to visit France this summer ,for a yet -to -be disclosed agenda.

But pundits think that Sarkosy now wants to voice out on democratic reforms inCameroon,which have been subject of public criticism.Sarkozy, who hates dictatorship, is said to be unhappy with Biya’s luke warm attitude towards carrying out genuine political and democratic reforms.

The Cameroonian president early last year influenced the amendment of the country’s constitution which scrapped off presidential term limit, by using his ruling CPDM party’s crushing majority in Parliament against popular protests.And last December he appointed several CPDM members into ELECAM, the body that’s supposed to organize all elections in Cameroon, whereas the law calls for the appointment of neutral personalities.

That act of Biya again drew sharp criticisms from within and out of the Cameroon especially Western Democracies.

Cameroon, a former French and British colony, is quite rich in natural resources. For example, Cameroon’s Bakassi peninsula, which projects in to the Gulf of Guinea is believed to contain up to 10% of the world’s oil and gas reserves.

France has huge investments and interests in this Central African Country and has maintained close relations with it for decadesBut relations between both presidents are reportedly icy.

Should Biya honor Sarkozy’s invitation, then that would revive and deepen French-Cameroonian ties, as well as between both leadersBiya first paid an official visit to France after Sarkozy was elected President in May 2007, but against high expectations Cameroon was dropped from a list of African countries President Sarkozy plans to visit not long from now.Alain Joyandet, French Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophonie was last Tuesday in Cameroon and was warmly received in audience at Unity Palace (Cameroon Presidency) by the Cameroonian President, during which he extended Sarkozy’s invitation to Biya.

But it was not clear whether Biya, who had since be expecting Sarkozy to also visit Cameroon, readily accepted the offer.

After the audience with Biya which lasted about an hour, the French Cooperation Minster told journalists that, their discussion centered on Franco -Cameroonian ties, which he described as good.Joyandet who was in Cameroon for two-day visit, also announced the visit of Francois Fillon, French Prime Minister to Cameroon in the near future

First published at www.mwcnews.net

The Art Of BEING Kuna

2009-03-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Kuna Indians are indigenous to Panama and may well be the remaining vestige of the Carib strain that once inhabited the north coasts of South America and parts of the Caribbean.

The major portion of the Kuna reside in 52 island and 10 mainland communities along the Caribbean coast of Panama. The comarca, or district, of San Blas, often called Kuna Yala ... literally means Kuna Land. The Kuna are one of Panama's three major indigenous groups.

The Kuna are a matriarchal society in which the line of inheritance passes through the women. After marriage, the young man must live in his mother-in-law's house and work for several years under apprenticeship to his father-in-law. Kuna myths suggest that, symbolically, Kuna women hold high status. Daughters, pampered with clothes and jewelry, are preferred to sons because they eventually bring additional manpower into the family.

Wearing 'molas' has come to symbolize Kuna ethnic pride tied to a "traditional" way of life. Molas are "THE Cuna ethnic boundary marker par excellence in that for both Cuna (Kuna) and non-Cuna it is a constantly visual, striking sign of Cunaite". After the 1925 Revolution of the Kuna Yala, against the colonial police and Panama ... which attemped to force the women to change from 'mola' (and wearing their asuolos - nose rings) to western dress ... the majority of Kuna women living in the communiteis where the colonial police had been stationed proudly and defiantly dressed in 'mola' and their 'asuelos'. Most of the women living on Nargana, the island most heavily influenced by missionaries, continued to wear western clothing. Since the revolt, wearing 'mola' has been seen by conservative and moderate Kuna (both male and female) as an important symbol of the Kuna people's right to self-determination.

Understanding who wears molas, why they are worn, and within which social contexts illuminates the ways women's dress defines Kuna ethnic identity and is used symbolically as a means for resistence. For some women, wearing molas was symbolic of their social and political autonomy as indigenous people. For other women, wearing mola was tied to a way of life. In the majority of San Blas communities, however, women are free to choose what they wear.

http://www.angelfire.com/tx/CZAngelsSpace/CunaIndians.html

Modern art in Trafalgar Square

2009-03-06T03:10:00.001-08:00

Readers who have been to London will know that like most cities of its age, it has plenty of statues, a large proportion of them dating back to the 19th and early 20th century, although in recent years there has been another spate of monument building, mostly connected with the Second World War - which one might have thought was safely in the past.

And even readers who have not been to London will probably know about the tallest such statue, that of Nelson in Trafalgar Square. But Trafalgar Square also has lions and four plinths. Three of the four plinths are occupied, I think with equestrian statues. (Despite being a regular visitor I am not too sure on that point). The fourth plinth, why I do not know, does not have a permanent occupant. But for the last few years it has had temporary occupants - more details at http://www.london.gov.uk/fourthplinth/. I have included here a shot of the current occupant.

Now during the coming summer it has been decided to have a peice of performance art. That is to say for 100 consecutive days and nights, the plinth will be occupied by a succession of people, one after the other, for an hour at a time. Apart from it being one person at a time, I think that the main rule is that you can do what you like but you have to be able to carry any equipment you might want to use. I have no idea how many people will apply, but I expect that it will be a lot more than the 2,500 or so places available. I am busily thinking of a suitable stunt for myself.

And I do think that stunt is the right word. A bit of fun, but I would not dignify this sort of thing with the name of art, despite the chap who dreamed it up calling himself a sculptor. All those old masters in the National Gallery adjacent must be turning in their graves.

Pope’s Cameroon Visit:Another Holy Opportunity for Biya

2009-03-04T03:09:00.000-08:00

By Chritopher Ambe Shu
Preparations are in high gear as Cameroon, Africa in miniature, looks forward to receiving Pope Benedict XVI on March 17.That will be Pope Benedict’s first pastoral visit to Africa since assuming the papacy in April 2005.
Some African countries, which were apparently hoping to host the incumbent Head of State of Vatican City, such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to media reports, think Cameroon should not have been chosen as the first African host of this Vicar of Christ on earth.
Pope Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had visited Cameroon twice -in 1985, and in September 1995, whereas several countries had not had such “regular holy visits”
The German-born Benedict is scheduled to have audience with President Paul Biya at Unity Pace, during which, it is widely hoped, there will be frank exchanges between the Pope and the President on matters of good governance, human rights, moral and democratic values.
President Biya, himself a staunch catholic would likely want to confide in the pontiff and seek his blessings in his leadership of Cameroon, pundits say.
The Papal visit to Cameroon is coming at a time when President Biya’s image is badly battered and soiled for socio-economic and political reasons, begging for cleansing.
Many political observers consider Biya’s leadership as “undemocratic and anti-people” even though the president has always claimed he is bent on modernizing and democratizing Cameroon.
Biya, who has ruled Cameroon for some 26 years, for example, still got his crushing majority in Parliament last year to amend the country’s constitution, removing term limits, against popular protest at home and abroad. The move was interpreted as Biya’s intention to become life president. His current and second seven- year mandate is expected to end in 2011.
Again, late last year Biya appointed several CPDM diehards as members of ELECAM (Cameroon’s so-called independent electoral body) and has since been widely criticized for not respecting the law which calls for the appointment of independent personalities. But the president does not seem to bother about the criticisms.
In protest, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), Cameroon’s leading opposition party has called for the boycott of any election organized by ELECAM, a call which if respected may plunge the country into violent confrontations.
Mgr Victor Tonye Bakot, Catholic Archbishop of Yaoundé (capital of Cameroon), who is also Chairman of the Organizing Committee for Pope‘s visit to Cameroon recently disclosed to the press that, Cameroon government and the church would share the financial cost of hosting the pope and his large delegation ,which could run in to hundreds of millions of FCFA.
It is worth noting that, the Pope was jointly invited to Cameroon by President Biya and the National Episcopal Conference

But the most certain thing that Cameroon would reap from the visit is the Pope’s Blessings to the leadership of Cameroon and its citizens
In Cameroon, the pope will also meet with bishops, Muslim authorities, and on March 19 celebrate an open-air mass on the occasion of the publication of the Instrumentum Laboris of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops at Amadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé.
The Pope leaves Cameroon on March 20 for Angola’s capital, Luanda.
Pope Benedict’s predecessor Pope John Paul II had visited Cameroon twice -in 1985, and in September 1995 at the celebration phase of the African Synod.
And in his departure speech at Yaoundé airport on 16 September 1995, after his three-day visit, Pope John Paul II had called on Cameroonians “in positions of authority in public life and business… to contribute to removing the obstacles, which still impede the development that ought to benefit their compatriots”. He strongly remarked, “My visit to Cameroon has enabled me to see the many material and spiritual gifts which the Almighty God has poured out upon your country”
But despite Cameroon’s abundant natural and human resources a majority of its citizens still live in abject poverty as corruption, embezzlement of public funds by holders of public office, unemployment are at record high.
Cameroon recently emerged twice as the most corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International, a Berlin –based good governance watchdog.
These social ills that are so rife in Cameroon are not unknown to Pope Benedict XVI
That is why on receiving Cameroon’s Ambassador to the Holy See last year, Pope Benedict XVI seriously warned the Biya regime to contain corruption, which has eaten deep into the fabric of this central African country
The Pope is coming to Cameroon at a time when even the country’s Catholic Church is known to be critical of the Biya regime, for not doing much to improve the lot of citizens The Catholic Church in Cameroon has in the last two decades had several of its priests murdered in mysterious circumstances, prompting the Vatican to call on the Cameroon government to carry out investigations so to prosecute the killers, but results of such probes are hardly made public.
But many critical watchers of Cameron political arena are convinced that President Paul Biya, will this time take the Pope’s God- inspired advice very serious and govern the country with the fear of GOD, which is said to be the beginning of Wisdom.

According to Vatican Information Service, “Cameroon has a population of 18,160,000 of whom 4,842,000 (26.7 percent) are Catholic. There are 24 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 816 parishes and 3,630 pastoral centres of other kinds. Currently, there are 31 bishops, 1,847 priests, 2,478 religious, 28 lay members of secular institutes and 18,722 catechists. Minor seminarians number 2,249 and major seminarians 1,361.
‘A total of 410,964 students attend 1,530 centres of Catholic education,
from kindergartens to universities. Other institutions belonging to the
Church or run by priests or religious in Cameroon include 28 hospitals, 235 clinics, 11 homes for the elderly or disabled, 15 orphanages and nurseries, 40 family counselling centres and other pro-life centres, 23 centres for education and social rehabilitation, and 32 institutions of other kinds.’’
NB:First Published on March 3,2009 by http://www.mwcnews.net/

First movie in the Balkans

2009-03-01T23:10:00.000-08:00

"Grandmother Despina"

This scene is a part of the very first film shot produced by the Manaki Brothers. Despina, the Janaki and Milton Manaki's grandmother, was recorded weaving in one high-angle shot. For no apparent reason, the first shot made in Macedonia, in the Balkans in fact, made by these two cinematography pioneers, contains peculiar symbolics: at the moment when the grandmother Despina spins the weaving wheel, film starts rolling in our country.

The movie from 1905 is created in standard technique, without sound, in black and white and 35mm.

The Manaki Brothers were Aromanian photographers and filmmakers born in the small village of Avdela, near Grevena, Aegean Macedonia, today Greece. They made the first motion pictures in the Balkans in the city of Bitola/Monastir in 1905.

“Cameroon Law Is Against Direct Trial of Children by Courts”

2009-03-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

- Magistrate Mrs. Epie Esther Ayuk, Deputy President Court of
First Instance, Buea and National Coordinator of CYJULERC

So concerned about the welfare of children, Magistrate Epie Esther Ayuk(pictured below) is fond of organising sensitisation meetings on Human Rights promotion and protection. As the only Inquiry Magistrate for children in the town of Buea and National coordinator of Cameroon Young Jurists Legal Resource Centre (CYJULERC) she recently assembled stakeholders in the juvenile justice chain to be updated on Children’s rights.

This jurist spoke to Christopher Ambe Shu after the seminar. Excerpts:

Your Worship, you recently organised a seminar at the Conference Hall of Alliance Franco- Cameronaise in Buea. What was the focus of the seminar?

Magistrate (Mrs.) Epie Esther Ayuk:The seminar was organised by Cameroon Young Jurists Legal Resource Centre (CYJULERC), a human rights organisation with headquarters in Buea. The seminar was on Juvenile Justice Chain in Cameroon: The Role of Actors; it also focused on international instruments relevant to juvenile justice administration .It was organised to commemorate the this year‘s youth day. And talking about youth we thought, there were some youth who were being neglected, whom we thought we could remember them on this day, and that is the young people involved in crime. This is a class that is always forgotten because most of the children involved are neglected or abandoned children. And most of them live along the streets and when they are picked up by law enforcement officers, no adult knows what has happened to them. And as such, no body cares about what is happening to them.
So we thought that CYJULERC, which has as one of its duties the protection of children’s rights , should organise a meeting to bring together the actors of the Juvenile Justice Chain-that is the civil society , the social welfare officers , the judicial officers(gendarmes and police),the State Counsel Chambers(the Prosecutors),the examining and inquiry magistrates , judges and the Prison officers, to deeply reflect on juvenile justice, and work together to ensure the justice of the young people when need arises.

From the interaction of participants during the one-day workshop, would you say the objective of the meeting was fully achieved?

It was achieved. It was more that the success we expected. The turn out was very massive, with over 40 participants. Some people who were not invited got wind of the meeting and turned up. Everybody participated actively and learned much from each other. We learned much on how to improve on certain aspects of our job working as a team. The workshop revised UN Guidelines for the prevention of Juvenile Deliquency, which stresses that, prevention of juvenile delinquency is an essential part of crime prevention in society. We treated the UN standard minimum rules for the administration of juvenile justice as well as the UN Rules for the protection of juveniles deprived of their liberty. The rules include principles that define the specific circumstances under which children can be deprived of their liberty, emphasizing that deprivation of liberty must be a last resort measure, for the shortest possible period of time and limited to exceptional cases.
We also examined the vulnerability of children in conflict with the law.

What are some of the new things you learned to improve on juvenile justice?

The meeting was chaired by the State Counsel for Buea,His Lordship Justice Wanki,who expounded on what is meant by juvenile justice and what laws are applicable in Cameroon and how these young people should be treated. One of the things which the participants learned which was new was the fact that, Juvenile justice was not only considered when it comes to crime, but also considered in civil matter; the young people have to be taken care of well.

How would you define juvenile justice?

It is an expression used when children come in conflict with the law. The justice that is supposed to be meted on them is special. The law has provided special protection for them to be treated differently from the adult. So, we can say juvenile justice is a process of trying children who are in conflict with the law. The term “children in conflict with the law” refers to anyone under 18 years who comes into contact with the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing an offence.

What special treatment do children have over adults?

The law in Cameroon has stratified children. Below ten years –total criminal irresponsibility; this means they are not responsible for their acts. Children between 10 and 14, they have partial responsibility and between 14 and 18, they have diminished responsibility. So the law has given this special provision for children’s responsibility to be diminished in case they are involved in criminal offences. Because of their vulnerability, these young ones will not fully know their responsibility and so the law makes it mandatory for those who are in charge of to be very careful. When a child is picked along the street by the law enforcement officer for having committed a crime it is mandatory for a social report to be carried out to be able to know the origin or the person of this child, the parent and the status of the child. The law also makes it mandatory for children not to be tried directly by the courts; they have to go through a special procedure of preliminary inquiry by an Inquiry magistrate, who is a magistrate of the bench of the Court of first Instance. Even if they are supposed to be tried it is not in the open court. They are supposed to be tried in camera –that is in chambers with only those involved in the matters.

Why are you so concerned with juvenile justice? Is it because you are a mother?

I am privileged to be a mother and I am also privileged to be a magistrate whose duty is to mete out justice to children. Coincidently I am the only inquiry magistrate for children now in Buea.I hope another one will be appointed soon. I am versed with their problems

Cameroon:Genesis and Reality of The Anglophone Problem

2009-02-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

For the Anglophone Problem to stop, Cameroon must revert to the 1961 Federal Constitution..

*By Chief A.S. NGWANA (pictured)

The Anglophone Problem is real, very important and urgent because it borders on the corporate existence of Cameroon as one country.
The German claim to Cameroon was recognized in the Berlin Conference of November 1884, but when Germany lost the First World War it also lost sovereignty over its African colonies, which by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles came under the ambit of the League of Nations as “Mandated Territories”

By this arrangement Cameroon was divided between France and Britain. The Eastern side went to the French and the Western side to the British. French Cameroon and British Cameroon were separated for nearly 40 years and each absorbed the culture of its colonial master.

East Cameroon became independent on 1st January 1960 and Nigeria to which Southern and Northern Cameroon were attached also gained independence from Britain on 1st October 1960. On 11 February 1961 the UN conducted a plebiscite in Northern and Southern Cameroon to determined whether Cameroonians wanted to be independent by joining the Federal Republic of Nigeria or the Republic of Cameroon.

The results of the plebiscite which should have been counted as one for the whole British territory, were split and counted separately between North and South Cameroon. The north voted to join Nigeria and the South voted to join the Republic of Cameroon. In June 1961, all the leaders of the political parties in Southern Cameroon met in Bamenda to discuss the terms and conditions of reunification.

There were disagreements on several issues, but all agreed unanimously that unification was to be based on Federalism and that Southern Cameroons was to retain all its organs and institutions, its culture and legal systems and its parliamentary system of government. In July 1961 the famous , “Foumban Constitutional Conference met in Foumban to draw up a Constitution for the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

After protracted talks it was finally agreed that reunification would be based on federalism, that the State of Cameroon would promote and strengthen the bi-cultural identity of Cameroon without the French or English culture absorbing the other, and that Southern Cameroon would retain all its organs and institutions.

These terms were then incorporated into the 1961 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Cameroon with a proviso in Article 47 making it impossible to unilaterally amend certain Articles of the Constitution without the risk of breaking up the Union. On the 1st of October 1961 the Federal Republic of Cameroon was born. It consisted of two Equal States – the State of East Cameroon (formerly French Cameroon or Republic of Cameroon) and the state of West Cameroon ( formerly British Southern Cameroon or Southern Cameroon.)

From 1961 to 1972 when the Federal Republic of Cameroon existed, there was no ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM. Let us not forget that it was Anglophones who voted to join the Union, and to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon, it was not the Francophones who voted, so the referendum to abolish the Federation should have only been voted by the Anglophones, but the Francophones with their majority in the Union “voted” and dissolved the Federation, the basis of Unification.
In so doing the Ahidjo government unconstitutionally and in breach of the Foumban Accord, abolished the Federal Government and introduced the present Unitary Government. This has created a new problem, a Constitutional problem called the ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM.
The Anglophone problem then started with the abolition of the Federation.

Anglophones who were used to the multiparty system of government suddenly found themselves in a one-party system of government (the “CNU monster ) with its dictatorship and suppression of human rights. East Cameroon-Francophone, oppressive laws and immanency laws, were extended and applied in West Cameroon.

West Cameroonians-Anglophones, were forced to carry “piece”(tax receipts, identity cards, voting cards, driving license etc) victims were arrested and tortured in the newly constructed BMM cells.
West Cameroonians who did not know fear before began to experience fear. Those who did not support the regime or criticize it were arrested, tortured or imprisoned.

By their legal system, a person is presumed guilty until he proves himself not guilty. Civil Servants were summarily dismissed businessmen lost their contracts or import licenses or were crippled by the imposition of unjustifiable taxes. Students were dismissed or had their scholarships withdrawn, journalists arrested and their papers seized or banned.

The whole exercise was planned and implemented by Youande to instill fear into the hearts and minds of West Cameroonians.
At the end Youande succeeded. West Cameroonian Judges, who had always been independent and fearless, began to accept dictation from Yaounde. They compromised their consciences, dignity and integrity and miscarried justice. Military Tribunals headed by West Cameroonians jailed innocent persons.
Members of Parliament were appointed and dismissed by Yaounde. Civil servants, Judges, the military and security forces were appointed, promoted, demoted or dismissed according to the whims and caprices of Yaounde. In the absence of justice, fear reigned. Those who suffered most were politicians and journalist.

By 1982 when Ahidjo resigned and appointed Paul Biya, his regime had succeeded in subjecting the whole Cameroon to Fear. East and West Cameroonians, Francophones and Angolphones lived in absolute fear. Democracy was dead.

In 1983, we (Anglophones) launched the Cameroon Democratic Party, our aims were to eradicate fear in the minds of Cameroonians, restore fundamental human rights and the rule of law, fight against corruption, mismanagement, nepotism, and above all, return Cameroon to multiparty democracy.
The ultimate goal was to build a buoyant and prosperous nation. Unfortunately the Biya government which inherited the atrocities of the CNU government of Ahidjo, kept me in exile for six years. Francophones must be told and the world must know that the Anglophone problem is not dying down but is gaining momentum every year.

In 1985, Fon gorji Dinka, a former president of the Cameroon Bar, unilaterally declared autonomy for Southern Cameroon. He named the new State Ambasonia.
Dinka is president of Ambasonia in exile.

The All Anglophone Conference (AAC1) held in Buea January 3-6, 1993 endorsed a return to the Federal System of government, While the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in its 1994 convention also accepted the Federal System.

On the 29th April to 3rd May 1994, AAC2, met in Bamenda, to discuss the “the road to peaceful self-determination and demand for zero hour” The AAC was transformed into “The Southern Cameroons People’s Conference” (SCPC) and then into the present SCNC “the Southern Cameroon National Conference”
In 1996, Dr. J. N. Foncha and S.T. Mona both of blessed memories, and once Vice-Presidents of Cameroon and retired Anglophone politicians, gave their full support to this struggle and led a delegation to the UN, accompanied by the Chairman of the SCNC, Mr. E.Elad, and prominent men from both North West and South West namely: Ambassadoe Epie of blessed memories, Ambassador Fossung, Mr. Litumbe, Dr. Youngbang, Justice Mbu and Dr. Munzo.

This was a clear indication of a united front and showed the gravity of the situation. In December 1999 Justice Ebong, a Judge of the Cameroon High Court, declared autonomy for Southern Cameroon, named the State “The Republic of Southern Cameroon”.

He was detained without trial for two years and then released Last year, 2008, Mr. Carlson Anyangwe, proclaimed the “Restoration Government of southern Cameroon”, he made himself president and appointed his ministers within and without the country All these people and movements in the Anglophone territory, are only trying to redress a situation which should never have arisen if our Francophone brothers have managed unification in the true spirit of brotherhood.
Instead we have been betrayed by the CNU/CPDM governments headed by our francophone brothers ADHIDJO/BIYA. In bad faith, they have betrayed our trust and confidence, our faith and aspirations for unification.
They have destroyed the basis of unification which is Federalism, they have, using their crooked control of political power marginalized Anglophones to second class citizens and are bent on destroying the Anglophone culture and tradition.

There are many Anglophones who have full mastery of the French language, more than many Fracophones and vice versa. But how can any one in good faith, explain the diabolic maneuvers to make sure that an Anglophone can never be president of Cameroon.

How can any one explain the fact that for 49 years, since independence an Anglophone has never held the important ministry of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Minister of Territorial Administration, defense or Chief Justice of Cameroon? Look at the disproportions, in numbers of Anglophone Generals, Governors, SDOs, Secretary Generals, Chief Executives of Government Corporations and parastatalls
In most of these places Anglophones occupy a second position How can you explain the fact that there is “regional balancing” in schools and universities only when it comes to admissions of francophone students. We did not unify to become second class citizens.

Unification was based on Federalism and Equality of Status, on Unity in Diversity, on equality of all Cameroonians.
A Federation is the only way by which any multinational and culturally divers communion, has the opportunity for variation in laws, existences, dispensations, that take account of the motley sensibilities and accordingly concede reasonable autonomy to the constituting units. Cameroon is a multicultural, multiethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious State.

That is why the United Nations gave Southern Cameroon independence on the basis of Federalism. We unified on the understanding that we would operate a Federal System, in which we will live in a mighty, united, economically strong Cameroon Nation; guaranteeing all citizens of every race and religion, inalienable fundamental and civic rights, equal opportunities and respect for the bicultural character of our people.

We therefore condemn any attempts to abolish or absorb, destroy or assimilate, promote or ignore, favor or submerge one culture, as inimical to the unity of Cameroon.
Therefore any person or party or government, who or which condones the marginalization, discrimination or the treatment of Anglophones as second class citizens, is an enemy of our unification.
Anglophones’ interest can only be protected and enhanced in a Federal Government. Our fight, our struggle is not against Francophones as such, but against the oppressive CNU/CPDM governments of AHIDJO/BIYA, governments which have denied us our fundamental rights and frustrated our political, economic and social aspirations;Governments which reduced us to second class citizens, and are hell-bent on keeping us there.

For any democratic dispensation to be successful, there must be an independent body to conduct elections so that the people can choose their rulers or leaders through free, fair and transparent elections by the ballot box.
For the first time when the most important organ of our democracy, (ELECAM), is to be set up, President Paul Biya, knowing fully well that this ELECAM was doomed to fail, because he would not respect the laws setting up ELECAM, he appointed an Anglophone to head it.

The failure of ELECAM would then be blamed on the Anglophones.

Well ELECAM has failed before it starts, Cameroonians as a whole and the International Community have rejected it, as not being a neutral body to conduct free and fair elections. Stop using Anglophones to do the dirty jobs.
For the Anglophone Problem to stop, Cameroon must revert to the 1961 Federal Constitution, or a modified Federal Constitution, which gives the Anglophones autonomy in their own Territory. May God spare Cameroon from chaos.

*Chief A.S. NGWANA is Chairman, Cardinal Democratic Party (CDP) ,an opposition party in Cameroon
His Contact Tel: (237) 33 43 10 72

Panama gets prepared for Carnival

2009-02-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Panama gets prepared for Carnival. There are four days, where almost every city and town forget their problems and go to the streets, dancing, singing, having fun in despite of the social, economical or political situation that affects the country.

Most popular are the Carnivals celebrated in the interior, being the most famous the Carnivals of “Las Tablas”. “Las Tablas” is the capital of the province of “Los Santos” and is located four hours from Panama City.

These carnivals are very traditional. The most popular and well known custom in this Carnival is that the city of Las Tablas is divided into two factions: Calle Arriba(Top Street) and Calle Abajo (Down Street), which are rivals during the celebrations. Each side has its princess and they compete with an incredible deployment of luxury, costumes, floats, decorations, fireworks and traditional tunes. Furthermore, each side has an organized committee that works during the whole year to gather funds and set up all the necessary mechanisms to have the streets brim over of pomp and majesty.

During these days, people from all cities and towns travel to Las Tablas, to be active part of this celebration. Since early in the morning, the central park is plenty of people who are dressed as if they are going to the beach, enjoying the daytime activity called "Culecos''. In these Culecos, big fuel dispenser cars are filled with water to dampen everybody in the park, while they dance and claim for more water.

At night the luxurious parade goes around the park, lead by the princess in her floats, with her retinue of ladies and followers who cheerfully sing funny and satirical tunes that have been composed especially to compete with their rival. When the parade finish, an almost endless and powerful deployment of fireworks is performed.

Celebration will start Saturday February 22, and ends Tuesday February 24, and this day is a declared day off.

During these days, people forget their problems, even though when the Carnival ends they would realize that their economical problems are worse than before, they will be broken but happy.

25 Random Things.. I love about Zimbabwe

2009-02-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

We have the best climate in the world- ask anyone. Harare in particular is wonderful, but the whole of Zim is pretty lovely. No, I am not biased.

We are really nice people. When you sit in a kombi (public transport), you can pour out your troubles and everyone will listen, perhaps laugh, usually have a kind word to say- no matter how pressing their own problems are. Strangers also smile and say hello. I love that.(Australians are nice too, incidentally).

We are peace-loving. After all the troubles we have been through in the last ten years... Well, anything could have happened. That stuff happens in other African countries. Not to minimize the cases that have been in the world media so much, but we never thought to turn to arms to make our point.

We know how to have fun. In the old days (pre-financial trouble), Christmas was a good excuse to party all night- with the whole neighbourhood. We know how to laugh, no matter what's going on around us. I think Zimbabwean jokes are among the best in the world. Maybe it's the weather, but anyone can have fun, at any time- and we do.

We endure. I admire the businesspeople who’ve stayed, and stayed in business, in spite of how tough things have been. I love walking into the shops and seeing products made in Zimbabwe. I love seeing people “making a plan”- people who lost their jobs five years ago just finding a new way to stay in the game. I love that most Zimbabweans don’t sit around waiting for a handout, no matter how hopeless the situation seems. I love that we are a hopeful lot.

I love that I don’t have to worry about the food I eat. Since just about everything we eat is organic, I don’t have to wonder if I’m getting cancer from my food… Or worry about being morbidly obese because of a reliance on takeaway food.

I love that no matter what the stresses we live under look like to the outside world, we still live a relatively stress-free life. Our lives are real. When we are stressed out, it’s because we have no food in the house, or because we are sick. It’s not because we want that fancy new car, or because of credit card debt. Levity aside, the incidence of so-called lifestyle diseases is low, and as a result we are healthier even into our old age.

I love the importance we place on extended family. One is never alone here. In times of trouble, there is always someone to turn to… And one in turn looks after others. I love that I will raise my children in community.

I love the importance we place on respect for elders. I think it’s a good basis for stability in society. I love, too, knowing that I will not be placed in an old age home for the convenience of my family, because that’s not how we do things here.

I love the way the rainy season comes. I love the way the dry heat builds up until it is almost unbearable, but then if you watch, every day you see storm clouds growing on the horizon… And then the first rains come with their drama- huge storm clouds, lightning, wind and the wonderful scent of rain mingling with dust… And then the storms that come at lunchtime and when you are about to leave the office after work, just to drench you. And then everything becomes green again, and it’s like the whole world is sighing with happy relief.

I love seeing the farmers work in the fields. I love going up to Honde Valley in Nyanga, the way the road winds until you are sick with vertigo, and yet you are gasping with amazement because each turn reveals some pretty, secret, lush valley… I love standing on the mountainside where home is, and looking across to the tea estates near the border with Mozambique. I love getting up really early, on those tear-inducingly cold mornings in Honde Valley, when you see woodsmoke from a dozen fires drifting upwards to mingle with the mist.

I love walking through the rain forest at Victoria Falls, getting drenched, and feeling like a child again… And then coming to a sudden clearing in the “jungle”, and there is the magnificent, me-shrinking majesty of the Falls. And all the other things- the hotels in Vic Falls and the excitement of being on holiday and ordering breakfast, the not-too-resorty “resortiness” of Vic Falls, the crocodile farm, watching the hippos swim at A’Zambezi River Lodge…

I love taking road trips here, and taking in the vast expanses of savanna… I love how beautiful the countryside is, and how the space gives one a feeling of freedom. I love that even in the city, I don’t feel cramped. I love that one can own a few acres of open land even in the city.

I love the pace of life here. Not even in the so-called fast-paced Harare is life truly fast-paced. I love that one still has time to stand and stare, and that work is never really frenetic.

I love that we don’t really have crime here. Not compared with other countries, I mean. And when there is crime, it’s hardly ever violent. The incidents are so isolated that this is the exception, rather than the rule. I love that you can walk around during the day without worrying about someone pulling a gun on you. I love that you can drive around without being certain that someone will try to hijack you.

I love how patriotic we get around sport- but usually only when our teams are winning. I remember going to a soccer match in Harare, and failing to get in because the stadium was packed. And how everyone was singing, and the feeling of pride in being Zimbabwean. I suppose this happens in other countries too… (grudgingly).. I love, too, going to watch cricket, whether at Harare Sports Club, or Queens in Bulawayo. The weather is always wonderful when cricket is on, and the atmosphere is fantastic.

I love how Zimbabweans think a party- or fun- is synonymous with a braai (barbeque)

I love the little places there are? were? in Harare, informal eating places like KwaMereki and Cresta Mbare, where one could get an excellent Zimbabwean meal- excellent value for your money. I love that one got to know about these places by word of mouth, and that everyone seemed to go to these places… So you would meet your friends and associates there. And that a lot of office workers would drive there at lunchtime, rather than to some fancy takeaway place… And the service at these places would be the envy of any catering business. And gradually the service would get personal, too, as you became a regular. I love that you never had to worry about the hygiene, because the hosts were at pains to make sure everything was perfect- just like home. I hope these places survive.

I love township life. I love how when you play your radio, it’s so that the neighbours at the end of the line can hear every word. I love that everyone knows when you have bought a new fridge- even those who live ten roads down. I love that every home has a fruit tree in the front yard- and if you don’t have one, you can steal your neighbour’s fruit- doing them a favour, because otherwise the neighbourhood kids will. I love the fact that you can borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbour, or a teaspoon of salt- unless they started a rumor about you ten years ago, in which case you would rather go to the people two roads away. I love the general exodus to any cleared space as soon as the rains begin, to plant maize (corn), which you can be sure we’ll be eating like mad for four months.

I love how we exaggerate. I love that nothing is small, especially when you tell a story. I love that everyone is a storyteller- you only have to watch a Zimbabwean, any Zimbabwean, for two minutes as they relate something, to know that. The gestures are huge, the voice is raised, and there is a great deal of poetic licence.

I love that I can joke with policemen. I call them “chef” or “officer”, and watch them puff up with pride when I do. I love Zimbabwean in-jokes like that, the words and phrases that I can use to any Zimbawean that convey a wealth of meaning- words and phrases like “berial cheques”, “demonize”, Diaspora, and “under curatorship”. I love how we are about community, and every experience becomes a shared “Zimbabwean” thing.

I don’t know how many of these things are particularly, or originally, Zimbabwean, but I love: Mazoe Orange, Buttercup Margarine, Sun Jam, Willards Custard, Colcom Cambridge Pork Sausages, Chimombe…. Zimbabweans will know what I mean. I love that we get homesick when we think about such things when we are far away.

I love how public transport is never full here. There is always room for one more person on the bus or Kombi. I love (strangely enough) the “chicken” buses that take you to the rural areas, no longer with squawking chickens, but with squealing babies and sweating mothers, with blaring music and a shouting conductor, and a household’s complement of furniture on the roof. I also love how the informal bus stops gain a name that everyone knows them by- pa chibage (“by the mealies”, referring to where someone is selling roasted maize/ corn); pa ma gum tree (at the gum trees), pa musika (at the market), ekhoneni (at the corner), e mapostorini (where members of the Apostolic Faith meet or sell their wares). I love that the name may last even though landmarks change.

I love the music… From the endlessly-repeated riffs and plaintive sound of the lead guitar in sungura, to the sort of Afro-jazz sound of Oliver Mtukudzi, to the vernacular choral music we sing at the Anglican church, that has the ability to move me so…

I love how Zimbabweans in the Diaspora long for home. It must mean that there is something particularly special about this sort of teapot-shaped piece of earth.

Snow in the south of England

2009-02-08T02:09:00.001-08:00

Little else but snow has happened in the south of England this week - and now it seems to be spreading to other parts.

Last Sunday was very cold, then overnight Sunday-Monday it managed about 12 inches of snow in an hour. The snow had been forecast, but our snow clearance people were temporarily overwhelmed.

We woke up on Monday to a blanket of snow over Epsom - something which has not happened for 10 years or more. Local roads more or less impassible for most of the day, but main roads started opening up during the day. Lots of vehicles got stuck and were abandoned, adding to the difficulties of those still trying to move about. Those people not trying to move about or get to work had a good time building snowmen and such like. We even had a sprinking of them in Epsom market place. The picture, from the Daily Mail, is, it seems, of a celebrity called Lily Allen. But not so celebrated that I had heard of her before. More information can be found about her at http://www.lilyallenmusic.com/lily/. But she did a better job of rolling her snowball than I did; at least it is ball shaped while mine was cylindrical, having been too lazy to vary the direction of roll.

Some of the snow is still hanging about although life is now more or less back to normal. So now it is time for the witch hunt. Why did the gritters not get out overnight Sunday-Monday? Why did the local councils not have enough salt and grit stockpiled? Who was responsible for the salt supply chain? Who thought it was a good idea to stand all the buses down? Close all the schools? Why don't we have a rule like the Danes do which says you have to sweep the smow off the pavement outside your house? Why don't we have a rule like the Norwegians which says you have to put special snow tyres on you car during the winter? The whole business has generated an impressive amount of media coverage; a welcome change from all the financial doom and gloom which has been our staple diet for months.

Macedonian handball hero Kire Lazarov

2009-02-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

MACEDONIAN HANDBALL HERO KIRE LAZAROV

At the World Handball Championship in Croatia 2009, Kire LAZAROV broke the record of Yoon Kyung-Shin from 1995's championship in Iceland - 86 Goals.
Now LAZAROV holds the record, best scorer with 92 goals

Fayrouz In Dallas: Iraqi Women, Then and Now

2009-02-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

Fayrouz In Dallas: Iraqi Women, Then and Now

One day, this'll be worth a lot of money.

2009-02-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

Portugal's prime minister, Jose Socrates

2009-01-31T05:55:00.000-08:00

Portugal's prime minister, Jose Socrates, is embroiled in an alleged corruption scandal over permission granted for a British development on protected land outside Lisbon.

Police searched the home of Mr Socrates's uncle this week in connection with the affair, which is said to have taken place when Mr Socrates was environment minister in a previous socialist government. Britain's Serious Fraud Office is said to be investigating the unexplained transfer of some 4m euros to bank accounts in Portugal at the time of the deal, press reports say.

Mr Socrates is alleged to have waived environmental restrictions in 2002, following intervention by his uncle and cousin, to grant the British company Freeport a licence to build the Alcochete mall or "village outlet", a gigantic emporium of designer shops south of the Portuguese capital.

The English royal family is reported to have a large stake in Freeport, which was taken over by the US conglomerate Carlyle in 2007.

Mr Socrates denies having misused his ministerial position to allow the shopping mall to go ahead, or having taken bribes from Freeport. In a rare television appearance at the weekend, he scorned the storm of media allegations, which was spearheaded by Lisbon weekly "Sol".

"The reports and the way they are presented are meant to target me personally and weaken me politically in an election year," Mr Socrates said. "Those who think they can beat me this way are wrong, because I'll fight to defend my honour, my integrity."

The Alcochete project was one of a number of major schemes that carved through Portugal's virgin lands, sometimes in defiance of environmental protection orders, in a drive to modernise the country.

The scandal has re-emerged at the worst possible moment for Mr Socrates, who faces general elections this autumn battered by the economic and financial crisis sweeping Portugal.

Environmental approval of the Freeport Outlet project met all legal requirements at the time, Mr Socrates said. He denied that the go-ahead, granted three days before general elections in 2002, was given with "unusual haste". The shopping complex, built in an environmental protection area along the Tagus estuary, needed cabinet approval for regulatory changes.

Ministers reportedly approved the changes just three days before the polls, which Antonio Guterres's Socialists lost to Jose Manuel Durao Barroso's conservative Social Democratic Party. Portugal's environment secretariat subsequently granted planning permission.

"I never gave any instructions to give the case urgent treatment," Mr Socrates insisted. "I reject all insinuations and slanderous allegations that involve my name regarding this case."

The media spotlight focuses on the prime minister's uncle and cousin, Julio and Hugo Monteiro. Hugo Monteiro is alleged to have held meetings with Charles Smith, a Scottish intermediary contracted by Freeport to ease the deal. Julio Monteiro is then said to have used his kinship with Mr Socrates to set up a meeting with the erstwhile environment minister for Mr Smith.

Mr Socrates vaguely recalls meeting Mr Smith in 2001, but "only to present to him the government's environmental requirements," after his ministry had twice blocked the building project. He says he has nothing to do with his uncle's business operations.

THE INDEPENDENT

Macedonia - timeless

2009-01-31T00:04:00.000-08:00

Macedonia - Timeless is a project of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia to promote awareness of Macedonian tourism opportunities.

For such a small country, Macedonia boasts a bewilderingly complex history, one which defies neat explanations and which has kept researchers and regular folks constantly occupied with investigating, and debating, their findings. The country's territory has been continuously settled through all periods of human civilization, and has been both the center of great empires and a decisive battleground where rival powers sparred, including the ancient kingdoms of Macedon and its contemporaries, the Roman empire, Byzantium, medieval Bulgarian, Serb and Macedonian kingdoms, the Crusaders, the Ottoman empire and the contemporary Balkan states.

Despite a turbulent past, however, Macedonia's people today are peace-loving, friendly and optimistic about a common future among the greater European family of nations.

TV Spot: Directed by Milcho Manchevski
Director of Photography Isabelle Dumas, Production Designer David Munns, Edited by Peter Mostert, Music Composed by Kiril Dzajkovski (based on a traditional Macedonian song), Sound Editing Igor Popovski, Casting Kirijana Alushevska Nikolovska, Costume Zaklina Krstevska, Consultants: Pasko Kuzman (Archaeology), Vladimir Janevski (Ethnology) and Iskra Dimitrova (Arts), Special Effects Obtuse NY, Produced by Darko Popov and Elena Staniseva for Senka Film.

Macedonia Timeless http://www.macedonia-timeless.com

" If you want to serve people ,use every opportunity have"

2009-01-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

-Dr Amos Namanga Ngongi, President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

Dr Amos Namanga Ngongi is a former Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Program. He dutifully served the United Nations for 19 years in various capacities and retired in 2003 while in Democratic Republic of Congo as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-Genera. Upon his return to Cameroon, President Paul Biya recognized Dr Ngongi’s drive for transparency and good governance and appointed him a member of the country’s national commission to fight corruption. But After serving for several months, Dr Ngongi resigned to take up a much more challenging job as president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) with residence in Kenya. During a brief stop in his village in Buea, Dr Ngongi talked about his new job and more to Recorder Editor Christopher Ambe Shu. Excerpts:

You are president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). What is it all about and what prompted its creation?

It was created as a response to persistent calls by African leaders for assistance from the international community to support its agricultural development.

The African Union met in Maputo in 2003 and resolved to make every effort to increase their own budgetary support for agriculture from the low level of 3-4% that was at that time to 10% of their national budget. Regrettably, very few countries have reached that 10% targetBut in any case, Bill and Melinda Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation decided to create an alliance with African governments, farmers and African institutions to be able to make a contribution to develop agriculture in Africa, though a program for productivity increases, small holders farmers’ scheme

How do countries benefit from AGRA?

First of all, AGRA does not just give money to countries. AGRA at its initiation carried out studies in Africa and identified 13 countries out of the sub-Saharan countries that it could start with, which include Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia.Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Those are the initial countries in which AGRA is working .It will expand to other countries as need arises or as countries enter into the AGRA program. But that decision is taken by the board of directors of AGRA, who meet regularly and examines the potentials of expanding the programs of AGRA.

For how long has AGRA been operating and so far what are its achievements?

It has been operating now-unfortunately, for two years with the 13 countries that I earlier mentioned. It first program was that of improving African Seed systems, to train African plant breeders, to support in providing new crop variety, to support African seed companies and help establish them so that they can produce and multiply those seeds and to set up a distribution system through agro-dealers who will bring the seeds to small holder- farmers.
There are about 60 students who are doing masters degrees and PhD in about eight African universities; we have plant breeders who have been supported in African research institutions to produce seeds.
Last year alone there were some 53 varieties of seed, which were released in the countries that we are supporting. We are also supporting the seed companies in which our initial stage-one full year, last year was 1500 metric tons of improved seeds of maize, rice. That is already a phenomenal increase in African Capacity to produce seeds.

And some 2000 agro-dealers have been trained and even empowered to access loans in credits institutions so that they can stock sufficient quantities of agricultural products-seeds, fertilisers, insecticides, and pesticides to be able to have them accessible to farmers.

And also we have worked with commercial banks to be able to leverage financial credits in banking systems to give loans to farmers.

In fact, in Kenya alone we and the International Fund for Agricultural Development we put together a guarantee fund of five million dollars and we leveraged $50 million from Equity Bank to be able to put bit at the disposal of agro-dealers and farmers. In Tanzania, we started with one million dollars and we leveraged five million dollars in the national finance bank to give credits to their farmers.
In March we will be making a major announcement. We have negotiated with a major bank in South Africa to leverage up to $200million.I think it is a lesson for us in Africa to be able to use our own resources in Africa to finance African agriculture rather than only running round the world asking for help. Of course, donors will continue to help Africa but Africa should also use its own resources to help itself.

When you retired from the UN you came back to Cameroon and expressed your readiness to help develop Cameroon. One of the ways you wanted to do this was to contest election for the post of mayor of Buea, but unfortunately you were denied the opportunity. Now that you have got another international job with residence in Kenya, how do Cameroonians especially Buea residents benefit from you?

Oh, there are many ways to serve a population. You can serve in a public office or you can serve in your private capacity. There are many to serve a population. It is not just occupying a political office, through which you can serve.
So if you are to help people you can put ideas together, bring people together to be able to achieve a common objective without necessarily being in a political office. At least in my little village of Bonalyonga here in Buea, we have formed a development committee, which has been registered and approved by the administration. We are looking forward to pooling our resources together to establish our own community center, to bring people together, to have indoor games, to have access to computers and other little things that can improve and give dynamism to a community.You don’t have to be in a public office before you do that, but public office gives you an opportunity to be able to do it at a larger scale. If you want to work for people you use every opportunity wherever you are to do that. Where I am now if AGRA is able to extend its activities to Cameroon that would be an achievement-a great help to Cameroon.But that is not my individual decision, but that of the board of directors of AGRA. So there will be missions coming to Cameroon to see the conditions of intervention. And if their recommendations are approved by the board then that will bring some additional benefit to the country, including Buea.

When you retired from the UN and came back to Cameroon the head of State Paul Biya recognized your drive for transparency and governance and appointed you one of the members of the national commission to fight against corruption. Now that you are resident in Kenya how do you help this fight to succeed?

Well, first of all, I was honored by the appointment made by the head of state. For the eleven months that I was there I did discharge my duties as best as I could. But unfortunately by accepting an appointment out of the country I had to resign from the anti-corruption commission.But no body can stop the efforts made by the government to try to fight corruption.
The intentions are clear.

But as you all know it is more the implementation that depends on human beings like you and me that can really bring results. It is more on the dynamism of implementing those decisions taken by the president; he has decided to fight corruption and has made several public pronouncements on that. I don’t think any body can fault those pronouncements.Now, how to be able to turn it into reality, you can see that many people at high places have been arrested, tried and imprisoned. Whether the pace is fast enough is another question. May be it is not just the arrest of people but the institutionalization of the notion of probity –that is having people who discharge their duties for public interest.
For Cameroon to have been declared two- time champion of corruption meant that we were really high at the corruption index list.Hopefully, with all these efforts people will be more conscious of the public need for probity and the judgment of the population at large of their actions. What you journalists are doing is also helpful by naming and shaming people. At least it helps to reduce the degree of corruption.

In as much as you are out of the country you are a CPDM militant and patriotic .I understand, you follow with keen interest events in Cameroon. Recently President Biya appointed ELECAM members and has since been drawing sharp criticisms from home and abroad for not respecting legal provisions in the his appointment. What is your reaction to the ELECAM appointment?

When I came to the country in 2003 every body was calling for the creation of an independent electoral body. The body, ELECAM, has been created. Now the criticisms are on the membership of ELECAM.Let us separate two things.
The creation of ELECAM is a wonderful opportunity. It creates an environment that potentially should lead to transparent, free and fair elections.

We should first of all be thankful that this body was created. Virtually, there is no Cameroonian who does not belong to a political party. We have over 100 political parties in Cameroon, so it will be difficult to find a Cameroonian who does not belong to a political party. Once you appoint people who are prominent in a party into ELECAM it is for them now to take the oath of office and it is their own personal integrity that would make them respect their oath of office. In fact, that is what we should judge.
We should not judge from where people are coming. Let us hope that the people who have been appointed will live up to the aspirations of Cameroonians. No body quarrels with the duties. So if they are able to live up to the spirit of the duties as stated by the law, then wherever they come from will not be something to be questioned. People should judge it from the results rather than before.

Cameroon is classified as a rich country both in terms of human and natural resources, but Cameroonians are poor. What do you think is the problem?

Well, potential is potential until it is touched, transformed and developed. We have the potentials-we have the land, good climate, geograpic differences, sufficient water for most of the country etc, but all of that have to be developed. If you are living where is diamond but you don’t realize that it is diamond, then it is worthless. Until somebody discovers it and starts using it then you will realize it is wealth. Until we (Cameroon) transform what we have into wealth we will remain poor. We have to set ourselves up to use our resources properly. It is not by accident that some other countries are able to move ahead. It is by orgainisation, structural changes -by putting people in place who are able to transform potentials into realities.

NB:First Published in The RECORDER newspaper,Cameroon,of Jan.29,2009

Cameroon :English Newspaper Publishers to Form Association

2009-01-29T05:09:00.000-08:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu

The existence of Anglophone Publishers and Editors Association (APEA) based in Bamenda and Cameron English Newspaper Publishers Association (CENPA) based in Buea, has not in any way stopped publishers of English Newspapers from creating another one.

That is why during the last general assembly of the Cameroon Association Of English Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) that held in Buea on July 18 -19, 2008, members expressed the strong need for another publishers’ association that “ could help find solutions to the numerous problems facing the journalism profession, in general and the Newspaper industry in particular.”

Consequently on January 23,publishers of English Newspapers from Yaounde, Bamenda, Limbe and Buea met at the Star Media Group Office in Limbe and brainstormed on on their difficulties and decided to form another association that would have a national character and attract broader membership. It was believed that, if the yet -to -be formed association would be strong enough it would cause the other associations to join its fold. Francis Wache, National President of CAMASEJ, chaired the Limbe publishers’ meeting

Before the publishers, who deliberated for several hours rose they resolved: to create an association that will look for solutions to their common problems. A steering committee was set up, chaired by Nhon Zachee Nzoh Ngandembou, Publisher of Eden Newspaper and The Sunday Eden, to come up with a draft constitution and by-laws within six weeks.

Other members of the committee include: Norbert Wasso Binde of The Sun as Secretary, Francis Wache of The Post, Charles Endeley of CAMASEJ Echo, Christian Ngah of The Guardian Post, Paul Nkemanyang Foanyi of The Star and Lucas Teneng of The Reporter.

The Committee was charged with convening a general assembly by April 2009 during which members would deliberate and adopt the name and constitution of the association.
Other publishers in attendance were Christopher Ambe Shu of The RECORDER, Ako Kingsly of Cameroon Express, Eric Motomu of The Chronicle, Eugine Nforgwa of The Quail, Gerald Ndikum of The Horizon, Fon Yembe of ……and Henry Njalla Quan, General Manager of CDC and Publisher of the CDC News.
Njalla Quan used the meeting to stress the need for professionalism by the media practitioners.

NB: first Published in The RECORDER newspaper, Cameroon, of 29 January, 2009

Cameroon:Is Biya soliciting Pope’s Blessing to cling to power?

2009-01-29T04:20:00.000-08:00

By Chritopher Ambe Shu

Pope Benedict XVI will next March 17 come to Cameroon as part of his first pastoral visit to Africa since he became pope in April 2005, it has been confirmed. The confirmation was made January 26 during a press conference in Yaounde by the president of the National Episcopal Conference and Archbishop of Yaounde, Victor Tonye Bankot.
On arrival, President Paul Biya will gladly receive the pope at the Yaounde Airport
The German-born Benedict is scheduled to have audience with President Paul Biya at Unity Pace, during which, it is widely hoped, there will be frank exchanges between the Pope and the President on matters of good governance, human rights, moral and democratic values.
The Papal visit to Cameroon is coming at a time when President Biya’s image is badly battered and soiled for socio-economic and political reasons, begging for cleansing.

The Presidency of Cameroon had earlier announced that, the Pope’s coming to Cameroon was also at the invitation of the Head of State, suggesting that President Biya, himself a staunch catholic, may, after all, want to confide in the pontiff and seek his blessings in his leadership and apparent bid to stand for reelection in 2011.

Many political pundits consider Biya’s leadership as “undemocratic and anti-people” even though the president has always claimed he is bent on modernizing and democratizing Cameroon.

Biya, who has ruled Cameroon for some 26 years, for example, still got his crushing majority in Parliament last year to amend the country’s constitution, removing term limits, against popular protest at home and abroad. The move was interpreted as Biya’s intention to become life president. His current and second seven- year mandate is expected to end in 2011.Again, late last year Biya appointed several CPDM diehards as members of ELECAM and has since been widely criticized for not respecting the law which calls for the appointment of independent personalities. But the president does not seem to bother about the criticisms.

In Cameroon, the pope will also meet with bishops, Muslim authorities and celebrate an open-air mass at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde.
The Pope leaves Cameroon on March 20 for Angola’s capital, Luanda. Benedict XVI will not be the first pope to visit Cameroon in recent memory.

Pope Benedict’s predecessor Pope John Paul II had visited Cameroon twice -in 1985, and in September 1995 at the celebration phase of the African Synod.

And in his departure speech at Yaoundé airport on 16 September 1995,after his three-day visit, Pope John Paul II had called on Cameroonians “in positions of authority in public life and business… to contribute to removing the obstacles, which still impede the development that ought to benefit their compatriots”. He strongly remarked, “My visit to Cameroon has enabled me to see the many material and spiritual gifts which the Almighty God has poured out upon your country”
But despite Cameroon’s abundant natural and human resources a majority of its citizens still live in abject poverty as corruption, emblezzement of public funds by holders of public office, unemployment are at record high.
Cameroon recently emerged twice as the most corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International, a Berlin –based good governance watchdog.

These social ills that are so rife in Cameroon are not unknown to Pope Benedict XVI
That is why on receiving Cameroon’s Ambassador to the Holy See last year, Pope Benedict XVI seriously warned the Biya regime to contain corruption, which has eaten deep into the fabric of this central African country

The Pope is coming to Cameroon at a time when even the country’s Catholic Church is known to be critical of the Biya regime, for not doing much to improve the lot of citizens The Catholic Church in Cameroon has in the last two decades had several of its priests murdered in mysterious circumstances, prompting the Vatican to call on the Cameroon government to carry out investigations so to prosecute the killers, but results of such probes are hardly made public.
Also Visit: www.recorderline.blogspot.com

St. Paul Winter Carnival

2009-01-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

In the northern reaches of the USA, there are snowy places. Places where the people enjoy the piled high white stuff. Where they get out and play in it. One of those places is St. Paul, Minnesota, where they have had a winter carnival, with a 'King of the Winds', since 1886.
For a week in late January, they celebrate with many activities, including an ice sculpture contest: photo gallery
Many of us in the southern states are content to see the snow on the internet and wonder about these people who enjoy the cold so much.

YouTube Say Macedonia

2009-01-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

YouTube Say Macedonia is a Macedonian YouTube users campaign for changing the official policy of YouTube naming us as Macedonia - The Former Yugoslav Republic of. YouTube Say Macedonia!

YouTube we respect your name, your owners and your service by using the name that YOU want to be your trademark. you have the right to it. But why is so hard for you to respect someones basic human right to be called by the constitutional name, by the name he choised to. Just as well as I don't have the right to change someones name, no one has the right to change mine. So please respect that. Call me by my NAME! Say MACEDONIA. Anyone who want to help can do that by writing a commet under the video. You can simply writte: YouTube Say Macedonia. You can find the videos on YouTube or here.

The Fists of a Nation.

2009-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

A well worldwide known figure from Panama is Roberto "Manos de Piedra(Stone Hands)" Duran. His awesome sporting career and his numerous achievements and victories have been the inspiration for writers,screen players,athletes and all his fans and followers. However, for us, Panamanians, he is more than an athlete or a celebrity, for those what have grew up parallel to his career. I remember when I was a child, and a Duran match will be held, I couldn't stand in front of the TV, watching the event! It was crazy! I ran to hide in my bed and put a pillow over my head, covering my ears, only when the cries coming from the collective euphoria, that happened only when Duran was one of the contenders, were made me get up and join the celebration.The anxiety and then the joy, after the victory I felt, is unique and incomparable. So, I grew up celebrating Duran's fights, championships, victories as a daily basis, as part of myself as the nationalism and Panamanian proud.
Now, he is retired,and I assure you,everybody miss his glory moments, because were not just for him, were for everyone who follow his career. Recently we have seen a very good short documentary, written and directed by a Panamanian movie maker, Pituka Helbron, titled: "The Fists of a Nation", and again the glory moments,happiness and joy we felt in the past came back and renewed the proud all us have inside. This documentary has been awarded in many international Festivals worldwide, but the best moment, as the director Pituka said, was when the documentary was presented by first time to the Panamanian audience in the Television. How come? Because she knows after she completed her masterpiece, the meaning and parallelism between Duran's fights and historic fights of Panama (The Canal, the Invasion,etc)and feelings like union and solidarity that only him can wake in the population. More than an fighter, athlete, humble and charismatic Latin American idol, Duran represents an unforgettable figure that involves all the temperament, character, thoughts and feelings that being simple and powerful at the same time, as dreams are born in the deep of a great small country called Panama. Duran is just a man, and we are a little country, but such a big heart we have!!Thanks Roberto!!

I invite you to look up the trailer in the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1v09uDrIEM

Recibe Fidel a presidenta Argentina Cristina Fernández.

2009-01-21T13:38:00.001-08:00

Santiago de Cuba. 21/01/09
jose@rrevolucion.icrt.cu

El líder de la Revolución cubana, Fidel Castro, recibió hoy a la presidenta argentina, Cristina Fernández, quien culminó una fructífera visita de tres días a Cuba.

Poco antes de partir rumbo a Venezuela, la mandataria informó que dialogó sobre diversos temas con Fidel Castro, a quien vio "muy bien". Agregó que hablaron sobre las relaciones entre Cuba y Argentina, y compartieron impresiones sobre el primer discurso de Barack Obama como presidente de Estados Unidos.

"Estoy muy contenta con esta visita, no podía terminar mejor", acotó la jefa de Estado, quien fue despedida en el aeropuerto por el mandatario Raúl Castro.

El presidente cubano consideró a su vez "magnífica" la visita de Fernández, quien viajó a Caracas para sostener conversaciones con su homólogo Hugo Chávez.

The new prez.....

2009-01-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

Almost 2 million people swarmed into Washington DC to watch the inauguration of the 44th President of the USA. I only got to watch it on television, but I enjoyed it all the same :)

photo source

Cameroon:CDP urges Biya To dissolve ELECAM for lack of credibility

2009-01-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Chief A .S Ngwana(pictured),Chairman of Cardinal Democratic Party(CDP) in Cameroon has called on President Paul Biya to dissolve ELECAM,which is supposed to be an independent Electoral commission but is not!

Biya recently appointed a majority of his ruling CPDM members to serve as Board of Governors of ELECAM contrary to the law which calls for the appointment of independent personalities.

According to sub-paragraph 11 article 13 of the December 29, 2006 law creating ELECAM, “the post of chairperson, the vice chair and members of the electoral council are incompatible to functions or quality…of a member belonging to a political party or a group supporting a political party, a candidate or list of candidates”. It states that the appointment of members into the electoral council of ELECAM are chosen from amongst Cameroonian personalities known for their competence, moral integrity, intellectual honesty, sense of patriotism and their spirit of neutrality and impartiality.

"ELECAM is not an Independent Electoral Neutral body to conduct any elections in Cameroon, but an organ of the CPDM, a tool in the hands of Paul Biya, to guarantee his life presidency",argued the CDP chair.Chief Ngwana was addresing a press conference on January 6, 2009 in the Conference Hall of Akwa Palace,Douala-Cameroon ,in reaction to the appointment of ELECAM management team. He also nailed Biya and his ruling party in his speech.
Below is his speech to the independent and state-owned media which was sanctioned by a question -and answer session
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Distinguished members of the media,
I welcome you here today to wish you a Happy and prosperous New Year and to ask God to bless you in your difficult task of decimating information accurately, enlightening and educating the public and exposing crimes fearlessly. In fact, as the fourth organ of the realm, after the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, you are indispensable to any democratic dispensation.
Since 1960 when French Cameroon achieved Independence as the Republic of Cameroon, and 1961 when British Southern Cameroon united with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon, Cameroon has never practiced democracy or understood what free and fair elections means.

Southern British Cameroon which later became West Cameroon, understood and practiced democracy. In a free and fair election there was a change of Government from the CPNC Government of Dr. E.L.M. Endeley to the opposition KNDP government of Dr. J.N.

Foncha From 1961 to 1972 When Cameroon was a Federation, West Cameroon, practiced democracy with all its attributes of fair and free elections, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and enjoyed economic prosperity.
Since the abolition of the Federation in 1972, the United Republic of Cameroon under Ahidjo and later the Republic of Cameroon under Biya, Cameroon has never enjoyed democracy. Under Ahidjo, Cameroon suffered the one-party dictatorship, with all the atrocities of press censorships, BMM, exit visas, arbitrary arrests etc. No opposition Parties were allowed. See the book “ The struggle for Political Pluralism and Democracy in Cameroon”.

In 1982, Paul Biya was appointed president of Cameroon, by Ahidjo, when he decided to resign voluntary. No elections.On the departure of Ahidjo. We challenged the one-party dictatorship, which Biya inherited by launching in 1983 the first opposition Party, “The Cameroon Democratic Party”, for which I was forced into exile for six years. (see above).

In 1992, Biya was forced by the Cameroon people and the International Community, to allow multi parties in Cameroon. The Cameroon Democratic Party, protested that multi parties cannot operate under the one party rules and asked for the Constitution to be amended to reflect the multi party state of the country. Biya refused, and conducted the first multiparty elections under the one part rules. The elections were conducted by the CPDM Minister of Territorial Administration ( no Independent Electoral Commission, See the recommendations of the NDI report in the above book)
We said we would not contest the elections unless there was an Independent Electoral Commission. The SDF party under John Fru Ndi contested the presidential elections against Biya, and Fru Ndi actually won the elections, because all Cameroonians wanted a change of government at all cost, but Biya was declared winner by the Minister of Territorial Administration and confirmed by the Supreme Court, said their hands were tied.

After this surprising defeat, Biya decided to perfect the art of rigging the elections. He still refused to appoint an Independent Electoral commission, instead Biya appointed NEO to observe the elections, with no powers to conduct the elections, his appointed Minister of Territorial Administration still conducted the last elections and gave his party more than 80% of the present Parliament, in his preparation for the final coup on the Cameroon Democracy.The opposition parties which took part in the elections cried foul, but Cameroonians did not mind because by the Constitution proclaimed by Biya himself limiting the tenure of the president to two terms of seven years each, Biya’s tenure would end and he would be barred from contesting any further elections. Biya would finally go.

Then the bomb shell fell. Biya amended the Constitution, to make himself life president. He would be re-elected with monotonous regularity, as many times as he would like to stand the elections, until his death and if he resigns he would enjoy immunity from all crimes committed during his life presidency. Cameroonians and the International Community cried foul, but his hand clapping Parliament amended the Constitutions and gave him the immunity he asked for.

Now the only hope Cameroonians had was the Independent Electoral Commission, which he had promised the world (Common Wealth) that he would set up. With an Independent Electoral Commission, Cameroonians saw a flicker of hope of changing the Government through the democratic process of the ballot box.According to sub-paragraph 11 article 13 of the December 29, 2006 law creating ELECAM, “the post of chairperson, the vice chair and members of the electoral council are incompatible to functions or quality…of a member belonging to a political party or a group supporting a political party, a candidate or list of candidates”. It states that the appointment of members into the electoral council of ELECAM are chosen from amongst Cameroonian personalities known for their competence, moral integrity, intellectual honesty, sense of patriotism and their spirit of neutrality and impartiality.

The Prime Minister, Inoni conducted extensive consultations with the opposition parties represented in Parliament and they made suggestions as to the type of people they wanted to compose ELECAM. ELECAM was to be made of outstanding men and women of high integrity, Politically neutral, and transparently honest. Men and women who would inspire confidence in the electoral process. But what has Biya done?

Distinguished members of the media, on the 30th December 2008, President Paul Biya signed “Decreet No.2008/463 du 30 decembre” appointing members of ELECAM.

He appointed all of them from his CPDM party, a party ridden with corruption and embezzlement, a party which has produce the most corrupt government, winning twice the trophy of the world’s most corrupt governments.

Biya appointed from a corrupt party, men and women of questionable characters, men and women some who had headed organizations where innocent blood of Cameroonians had been shed, to guarantee that he and his party will always win any election conducted in Cameroon.

ELECAM is not an Independent Electoral Neutral body to conduct any elections in Cameroon, but an organ of the CPDM, a tool in the hands of Paul Biya, to guarantee his life presidency. Distinguished members of the media, we reject ELECAM and call on President Paul Biya to disband the present ELECAM he has appointed and appoint a true INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION.

We, the Cardinal Democratic Party will not contest any elections conducted by the present ELECAM. We call on all political parties to boycott all elections conducted by the present ELECAM. We call on all Cameroonians to boycott all elections organized or conducted by the present ELECAM.

Let all Cameroonians and the whole world know that Cameroon is a ONE PARTY STATE, and that there is NO DEMOCRACY in Cameroon. Biya has killed Democracy in Cameroon.

Of course some stupid money mongers will be quick to say that if we boycott the elections, the CPDM Party and Biya will be declared winners, but the truth is that if we contest the elections, the CPDM and Biya will still be declared winners, so why then, give them that legality by contesting the elections. Let us not deceive our selves for love of money, and destroy Cameroon. Any person or party who or which contests any election under the present ELECAM is an enemy of democracy, is an enemy of Cameroon, is a traitor to Cameroonians..

The CPDM and Biya will buy people with money to contest the elections, but that will only help them to be there for a short time. Biya knows, unless he is deceiving himself, that if he contested an election against a monkey, an Election conducted by a true Independent body, the monkey will defeat him.
Men and women of the media, the truth is that the CPDM government and President Paul Biya cannot be removed through the democratic process of the ballot box. We must wait for Biya to resign voluntary or die through the natural process of all mortals.

I am ready to bet 50 million francs in cash or kind with any person who proves that the CPDM or President Paul Biya can be defeated by any party or person in an election conducted by the present ELECAM.

However we must not forget the wise council of President Kennedy who said that those who prevent peaceful change must be ready for violent change. No condition is permanent.

Under the CPDM government headed by life President Paul Biya, Cameroon has no Constitution, but a set of laws which are changed by Biya at will, at his convenience.Biya is the law. Biya is in full control of the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary (no separation of powers}. As commander in Chief, Biya is in full control of the army and all security forces. Biya is all powerful in Cameroon.

Under Biya’s long tenure in Office (26 years already} Biya must be responsible for all our miseries and hardships and sorrows. We are a rich country, but we are now among the poorest countries of the world. Cameroon has sunk to the lowest depths of corruption, winning the World corruption trophy twice.Under the CDPM government, justice is no longer guaranteed, since with money you can manipulate the judiciary.

Our criminal Code provides penalty for many crimes, but under the CPDM government the laws are no longer enforced. Prostitution is an offence punishable under section 343 of the Cameroon Penal Code. The punishment ranges from six months to five years imprisonment or a fine of 20,000 to 500,000 CFA.Yet we see on our television screens, University girls in Yaounde, advertising that they charge 5,000 CFA for sex without condoms and 3,000 CFA for sex with condoms.
How many times have we read in the papers about aborted babies dumped in latrine pits or abandoned on railway tracts after abortion, yet abortion and murder are criminal offenses under the Penal Code, but the culprits are never arrested.Homosexuality, punishable under section 347 of the Cameroon Penal Code, is widely practiced by “big men” and now Students in colleges and universities practice it, but no legal actions taken. Adultery and bigamy are offences punishable under sections 361 and 359© respectively, but Biya say that all these offences are private matters for which the press must not be involved.Ahidjo was no doubt a great dictator, but under Ahidjo these laws were enforced. Police and gendarmes paraded streets at night to arrest prostitutes.
If a person stole more than two million francs CFA, he went to jail for life. Today, billions of francs are looted , stolen or embezzled and the culprits move about freely. Civil society is so fed up with the legal system, that when a thief is caught, they take the law into their hands and apply jungle justice. They put tyres on the person and roast him. We fear that they will soon start roasting the “big men and women” who have stolen billions of francs.

The collapse of morality and probity in our society is affecting not only the young people in schools and universities, but even God’s consecrated Servants. Despite the preaching by the hierarchy, some consecrated servants of God, have been corrupted by the rotten society and some are guilty of the crimes committed by the criminals of our decaying society.

Distinguished members of the media,
our society is rapidly driving down to chaos.My Party and myself have written to President Paul Biya several times about the Anglophone problem which borders on the corporate existence of Cameroon, but to no avail.
The Anglophones complain of marginalization, discrimination and treatment as second class citizens. They are fed up with Cameroon and want to Separate from the Republic of Cameroon. The only lasting solution to this problem is to return to the Federal Republic of Cameroon
Constitution.
A Constitution which guaranteed equality of States, equality of all Cameroonians, and the rule of Law.
We must never lose sight of the fact that unification was based on federalism. Ladies and Gentlemen of the media,I employ you and all Cameroonians to invoke God’s mercy on our Country.
We are economically bankrupt, democratically bankrupt, and morally bankrupt. We are drifting fast into Chaos, anarchy and doom, and only God can safe us.

Thank you.
Chief A.S. Ngwana,
National Chairman. CDP
ALso Check www.recorderline.blogspot.com

Christmas...!

2009-01-07T00:44:00.001-08:00

Today, the 7th of Jan., the Christian Egyptians celebrate their holidays, it's Christmas time here!

A warm morning it is....with all Egyptians kindling candles in prayer of peace...!

May Church bells ring merrier than the sound of bullets over in Palestine! The Famous Beitlahm..and the fellow Christians in Palestine can hardly celebrate due to the increasing death toll that has exceeded the 600 , all of children and women!!

May peace prevail....! and Merry Christmas for all!

The end of an era

2009-01-06T00:42:00.000-08:00

This Christmas has seen the end of what used to be a very important shop in England - maybe in Wales, Scotland and Ireland too. When I was a child, Woolworths used to have a shop in every high street. And a lot of very good premises they had too.

Before my time, they used to have a policy that nothing cost more than, I think, one shilling. Presumably some pounds in today's money. But so as not to restrict their stock too much, some things were sold in bits. So if you wanted to buy a carpenter's plane, the three parts were sold separately.

In my time, they used to sell quite a lot of dry goods. Cheese, bacon and biscuits. The interesting part of the biscuits being that as well as branded biscuits in packets, they also sold biscuits loose, from tins, a tin cube with sides a bit less than a foot, the sort of tin which I still know as a biscuit tin, although I have not seen such a thing for many years. And if you were really short of money they also sold broken biscuits for half the price of whole ones.

More recently, in Epsom, Woolworths has sold little more than sweets, DVDs and a selection of the sort of junk you can pick up in market stalls. I think they also sold their buildings and leased them back - an arrangement perhaps designed to reduce their tax liability. Or perhaps just to free up funds for expansion. Or to transfer funds to their holding company.

This last being relevant now that they have gone into administration, the word we use now for going bankrupt. Gone into administration, with the shops selling everything, down to and including the shop fittings. In one store, I even saw them stripping the shelving off the walls, taking them down to the bare bricks. We are told that the administrators, one of the big firms of accountants, will make lots of millions out of doing the job - while the staff, never well paid in the first place, will probably not get their redundancy. The way of the world we live in, I suppose.

As a footnote, I record that, as a child, Woolworths was bottom of the premier league shops in Cambridge when it came to girls' employment. First Joshua Taylor, then Eaden Lilley, then Robert Sayle, then Marks and Spencer, then Boots and last of all Woolworths. They took the bottoms of all the classes. On the other hand they lasted longer than Joshua Taylor and Eaden Lilley, both old style, independant department stores which are long gone.

Change.gov

2009-01-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

I don't know that it is a first, but I think it is: US president-elect Obama has a blog.

Not surprising since Mr. Obama is supposed to be addicted to his Blackberry and is requesting a laptop computer on his Oval office desk. The security folks are having problems with the whole electronic idea- worries about hacking and leaks and .....people sharing silly pictures? It will be interesting to see how the security concerns play out against the march of technology.

Portuguese Scientist Silvia Carvalho

2009-01-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

ENVIRONMENT: "True" Conservation Progress

Eve McDonald-Madden, Ascelin Gordon, Brendan A. Wintle, Susan Walker, Hedley Grantham, Silvia Carvalho, Madeleine Bottrill, Liana Joseph, Rocio Ponce, Romola Stewart, and Hugh P. Possingham
Science 2 January 2009 323: 43-44 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1164342] (in Policy Forum)

......Susan Walker, Hedley Grantham, Silvia Carvalho, Madeleine Bottrill, Liana Joseph...3 Susan Walker,4 Hedley Grantham,1 Silvia Carvalho,1,5,6 Madeleine Bottrill,1 Liana Joseph...Susan Walker, 4 Hedley Grantham, 1 Silvia Carvalho, 1 , 5 , 6 Madeleine Bottrill......

Summary »

A Happy New Year from JAPAN

2009-01-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

We exchange new year greeting cards each other.
2,089,000,000 cards are delivered on January first only.

I found the digital greeting card at Google Japan.
It is made on their spreadsheet application and it's amazing!
You can see the file here

Happy Hollydays

2009-01-01T04:34:00.001-08:00

A happy new year and best wishes from Romania :)

Here are some images from Bucharest, Romania from last night New Year's party celebration. Lots of fireworks, lasers, lights, sounds.. It was great. One of the nicest shows I participated in the last years.

There was 20-30minutes of good quality show: fireworks, lights were related to the sound of music.. Although it was quite cold it was worth it! Congratulations for the organizers :)

More photos from the event on www.iloveyouromania.com

1st of Jan. 2009

2008-12-31T16:33:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009 :)

May this year be a peaceful , serene one! With all our wishes fulfilled!

Now ..it's almost 2:30 am , Cairo Time!

The very first hours of the new year..I spend among late assignments! :D

A Prayer of Peace...

2008-12-29T05:41:00.000-08:00

A new Lunar year 1430 shines today...with Muslims parying God for a peaceful year, away from bullets and blood that is all over Gaza strip in Palestine!

Egyptians sadly welcome the new lunar year..while crossing fingers that the attack on Gaza may end soon..which has started the day after Christmas (26 Dec.), leaving more than 300 Palestinian dead, and more than a 1500 wounded so far, in a brutal massacre, not to mention the demolished houses, the power shutdown, the shortage of all kinds of supplies...and only rocks as weapon...and Gaza is all plunged into darkness (lietarally and figurateively)!!

In such holy days, proceeding Christmas, Lunar Year of Muslim celebration, the forthcoming 2009, then the Orthodox celebration of Christmas on the 7th of Jan.... all our hearts is in solemn prayer for the children, women and men who die...cannot find medecine nor supplies, who are helplessly praying for life in a peaceful home they cannot find!

The current status in Egypt is quite in tension...! The citizens are quite frsutrated towards the world negative stance towards the massacre that's taking place in Palestine, and no hand stretched towards them to end this brutality! Egyptians are also at rage from their government that seems to be helpless towards what's going on...not facilitating matters to help our fellow Palestinians! However, Egyptians are still hurrying to donate blood, money, or whatsoever needed, on hope that these may be dilevered through the borders between Egypt and Palestine!
Demonstrations strike every now and then in many countries...calling upon their governments to lend a listening ear to the bullets that shoot a child every minute now!

as for today...Muslims prefer to welcome the new Lunar (Hijri) year by fasting the day.. in a subtle holy celebration of the day...with prayers of a better, peaceful world!

Just as the innocent people everywhere..are used as fuel of wars, tensions, disputes, decisions....their hearts is still kindled with hope of a better day..with no oppression of any kind!

May Peace prevail upon our world!

Christmas in Panama

2008-12-26T12:47:00.000-08:00

First at all, I wish a peaceful and happy Christmas season, even though you are religious or not, considering this time as a time to share with our relatives a good time.
To describe you all, a lilttle bit about our traditions, our country is a mixture from several countries, traditions, religions, languages, and we can see these influences in every detail. We are customized to decorate with lights, a lot of them, trees as pines, some of them real pines from Canada, other artificial pines, all them decorated with ribbons, braids, shiny balls, butterflies, little dolls, elfs, whatever looks cute. But a very important and traditional decoration are the ceramic figures that resemble the Holy Family and the time that Jesus was born.
Fir Dinner we prepare Ham, Turkey or Porc´s leg, acompanied by rice with chicken or gandules*, potato salad and rum cake. A beverage well famous in this season is known as ¨Saril¨ made from a flower called Flor de Jamaica. Is made with the flower boiled in water with ginger, cinammon, spice cloves and sweetened with sugar.
Most of the people plays loud music at home, organize parties in the neighborhoods and throw fireworks. Children open their gifts at midnight and plays until late with them.
Families have been preparing and saving all year for this day, and it comes and goes fast, but it is season to forgive, to give, to share and to laugh, to say how much we love each other, and sweet memories remain fresh in our hearts.

When the days become longer

2008-12-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

Apart from the fact that most Icelanders celebrate Christmas (whether they are religious or not), this is the time of year when the day starts becoming longer, gradually. December, January and February are the darkest months og the year, but towards the end of February you feel that light will win once again over darkness.

Most of us are very conservative when it comes to our Christmas traditions; they are in a way an odd mixture of commercialism and religion, with the former, as it seems, being more important.

On Christmas Eve an Icelandic family will sit down to a traditional dinner, each family sticking to the same main dish every year: lightly smoked pork rack is probably most popular but other families cannot imagine this meal without ptarmigan.

After dinner the family gather in the living-room where they open and read Christmas cards from friends and relatives. Then they open their Christmas presents and enjoy the evening together.

I hope all of you enjoy this season of happiness and joy, praying for the peaceful co-existence of the peoples on this planet of ours.

The Nutcracker Ballet

2008-12-24T06:41:00.000-08:00

In the 1940s, America was introduced to ballet vignettes of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker of Nuremburg. This short version was not terribly popular, but it sparked the imagination of some notable choreographers who staged the full-length ballet. complete article

Since then, it has become an annual Christmas production of local ballet companies across the USA, much to the delight of families and young ballet students. In Alabama (my state) alone, there are six venues to watch this delightful ballet.
And if you cannot get to a live performance, there are numerous film versions to enjoy at home.

Also, wishes for a Joyous Holiday for everyone and a peaceful New Year. Jane

Chushingura

2008-12-14T04:12:00.000-08:00

"Chusingra" is one of the most familiar stories in Japan.

Forty-seven Samurai(soldier) inflicted upon the foe "Kira" for their master "Asano Takumino Kami".

Demember 14 is the day they accomplished their ardent wish.
They were sentenced to death "Seppuku", cutting their own stomach with a sword by themselves.

This is not a fiction.

People everywhere praised their loyalty and this story has been dramatized ever since.

Panama, December 2008: Teleton 20-30

2008-12-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

I am very happy to be part of this special blog, that shares ideas and topics from several countries. Certainly I will learn a lot from all the collaborators, and I hope that my contribution will be another link in this chain of culture.

As the first topic to present, I would like to talk about a special activity we celebrate in Panama, and has been made for the last 23 years: Teleton 20-30. In this activity all the panamenians join to the cause that is selected to support. The cause this year is to buy specialized equipment for Chamber of Neonatology Intensive Care in the Children´s Hospital. I know this activity is made in all countries, and is to afford a good cause, and everyone is moved deeply for the cause, the artists donate their talent and hundreds of men and women donate their job for almost 24 continuous hours. Even though that the main goal is achieve the money to buy the equipment, is invaluable the motivation, selfless support and altruism between all of us, that left us with the sweet taste and pride to live in a very small country, but with a heart three times bigger than our little territory.

Food trends in Romania

2008-12-12T02:05:00.000-08:00

Here's an image I shoot in a Romanian farmer's market. In fact is the farmer's market that's taking place every day in my neighborhood. In every city/town there are several like this one. People come here, expose their merchandise..and negotiate for the whole day. They sell everything from tasty and healthy food to flowers and all sort of small gadgets.. you know, like in a real farmer's market. Romania is one of the few countries I know that runs these kind of markets every day of the week. And I am glad I can buy healthy, organic food at a decent price..

..whenever I want. The downside of the Romanian "new society" is that I/we don't care so much about healthy food. Or at least I think so because everybody is buying the nice looking, not so healthy food from the supermarkets. If you want to go in a supermarket to buy just a six-pack and some snacks in a Saturday afternoon or in any other evening, you will end up spending whole 2 hours "running" in the supermarket to get your products and pay them. It is so crowded that you feel like being in a car jam on the highway.. The supermarket and the fast-food trend is very successful these days. Or at least I think so. The great advantage we have compared with other countries is that we still have alternatives.. farmer's markets.

www.iloveyouromania.com

A very English affair

2008-12-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

The Speaker of the House of Commons is a very old job, presently inhabited by one Micheal Martin. A former sheet metal worker from Glasgow, he has attracted his fair share of flak, some of it in connection with the very considerable expenses that go with the role.

Now it seems that a Conservative MP has been receiving, on a regular basis, privileged information from a Home Office official. The Home Office official would be bound by his terms of employment not to divulge information in this way and will clearly be breaching those terms, if not the ordinary law of the land. The Conservative MP appears to have been aiding and abetting this activity. I don't know if that amounts to a crime.

The Home Office got rather cross about the leaks and asked the police to look into the matter. Their enquiries led them to the Conservative MP and they thought it would be an idea if they searched his various properties and offices. One of these was his office in the House of Commons, itself a rather privileged place. But the Speaker gave the police permission to search this office. Massive row in the press. Breach of parliamentary privilege. End of parliamentary democracy as we know it. Certain Labour MPs, who used to do exactly the same sort of thing themselves when in opposition, get very sancitimonious about this aiding and abetting. Calls for the Speaker to resign.

In the midst of all this, very little discussion about the information which has been leaked. That is not really the point here! Plus, after being the hot topic for a week or so, all died down now. The papers have found some other hare to chase.

Cameroon: Human Rights Promoter to Run for 2011 Presidential Election

2008-12-11T05:48:00.000-08:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Christopher Tambe Tiku(pictured), South West Regional Secretary of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF) of Cameroon, yesterday, December 10 in the town of Buea, used the 60th anniversary celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to announce his decision to run for Cameroon’s next presidential election, billed for 2011.
This year’s anniversary was celebrated under the theme “Dignity and Justice for all”

It was unclear why Mr. Tambe Tiku chose but the Human Rights anniversary to make public his political and presidential ambition. It was not also known under which political party he would be running and the reason for his very early announcement, which took many people by surprise.

Mr. Tambe Tiku, a lawyer and pioneer Secretary of NCHFR in the South West Region, announced his candidature in his formal opening address at a conference marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in his office.

“ I have decided to run for the 2011 presidential elections in this country in a bid to exercise my rights guaranteed by the Cameroon Constitution”, he said in his speech, drawing applause from the assembly.

Journalists, lawyers, Human Rights advocates, magistrates, University Students,security operatives and a cross section of the local population attended the conference.

Also in attendance was Njonjo John Njie, Deputy State Counsel (deputy prosecutor) for Buea, who expressed satisfaction at the inquisitiveness of the audience on Human Rights concerns

In presenting his two-year report of activities as NCHRF pioneer Southwest Regional Secretary Mr.Tambe Tiku said his regional office experienced a steady increase in the number of complaints about Human Rights abuses filed in.
“For example in 2006 the office recorded 45 complaints. The number of complaints increased to 96 in 2007 and in 2008 there are already 120 complaints. Altogether, the regional office has received a total of 261 complaints since its inception,” he disclosed

He added that about 80% of the complaints were disposed of by mediation, a mode of conflict resolution deemed “faster, informal, non-confrontational, relatively cheaper and more suitable for the majority of clients who fall within the lower income bracket and are among the most vulnerable groups in our society”

Mr. Tambe Tiku justified that his office played a pivotal role in the crusade against corruption in the Southwest region, investigating numerous complaints of corruption, abuse of office and conflict of interest

“My office…insisted on the dismissal of a certain police officer at the Judicial Police for extortion. This officer was suspended for six months and subsequently transferred,” he disclosed

The Regional Secretary noted that their determination to do more in human rights promotion was handicapped by the paucity of funds. “Lack of adequate financial resources limited the office’s ability to organize more training workshops and seminars,” he noted.

But Mr Tambe Tiku faulted the Commission’s Permanent Secretariat in Yaounde for not doing much to help his regional office.
“We are highly disappointed by the fact that the Permanent Secretariat in Yaounde concentrated its promotional activities in Yaounde and Bamenda”, he fumed, suggesting that more sensitization activities be focused in the regions and peripheries where people are still ignorant of their basic rights.

A question -and -answer session as well as a donation and an exhibition of human rights books to participants characterized the conference

The National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF) of Cameroon was set up in 2004 and charged with the promotion and protection of Human Rights. But its Southwest Regional Office was established October 2006.
Also check http://www.recorderline.blogspot.com/

Heartbreak

2008-12-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

Reposted from my personal blog:

The situation in Zim has reduced me to tears. What hurts the most, I think, is that this is not because of some natural disaster, or because of some really serious thing that we couldn't control...

The images of malnourished children coming out of Zim now are so shocking to me. Growing up, we were always told to finish the food on our plates so we didn't become like the kids in Somalia or Ethiopia, because of course that's where those images used to come from in those days. To see that here brings home the reality of that kind of suffering to me, and makes me sick to my core. I just cannot believe what's going on now, and most Zimbabweans can't either. It's as if whenever I stop to have a conversation with anyone, that's what we're talking about: how did we get here?

I can't even talk about the unspeakable situation in Harare without getting angry... Someone told me that if I had plans to visit, I should postpone my trip, because it is truly unlivable there. I know the last time I was there, in May, things were pretty dire. Had gone to a friend's wedding, and they had had no water for a week (yes, imagine that, with children and visitors in the house). All their water was collected from another friend who lived nearby (another suburb), in 25L and 50L water containers; that's ALL the water for bathing, cooking, washing.. Not a drop out of the tap. People in Greendale, Harare, have lived like that for a while... Other areas too. Now it's so much worse that the images on TV are true: people scooping water out of ditches, and where there's been a water pipe burst... Even from a distance, you know that water shouldn't be anywhere near a human being, and more often than not it's children collecting it.

And then the cholera... Dear Lord. That's what makes me a little incoherent. Why, why, why? Something so preventable, something that .. yes, happens every rainy season, to some degree, but could be prevented by access to clean water? And at the very least, is eminently treatable, and yet we have no health system to deal with it? Zimbabwe, that once had such an enviable health system? I last worked in government hospitals in 2002; we had shortages of gloves and saline "drips" (IV fluids) then, but at least we had medicines and health professionals. A true sign of what things have become is that doctors and nurses actually took to the streets two weeks ago and again last week, to complain about the state of things in the hospitals.. Something pretty unheard of here. Never mind the stories I've had from patients about the terrible corruption in hospitals.. From x-ray technicians demanding bribes before you can get an x-ray done IN A PUBLIC HOSPITAL, to paying surgeons in foreign currency (AT A PUBLIC HOSPITAL) before you can have an operation done.. Someone told me about a nurse in Harare who is diverting public patients to a private doctor (who charges USD100, unimaginable money for your average Zimbabwean) for a fee (about USD25). Disgusting.

This is not to spread "fear and despondency"; I think the SABC does that very well. (There is almost a kind of maniacal glee when they talk over and over about an Ethiopian man who visited Zimbabwe and fell ill in South Africa a day later... That I call sensationalism, no matter how true it is). I am intensely irritated by a lot of the idiotic and totally useless rhetoric (including Tutu's, Odinga's, and Sentamu's- you are NOT helping us, or the situation!), but I am reduced to such depths of despair by the fact that I don't know what we ought to do. The situation here is truly, truly dire... And that legendary Zimbabwean ability to cope with anything that's thrown at us (we "make a plan") is not only stretched past enduring, it has become inappropriate.

I am upset, I am emotional, I am angry.