My Africa Today

In the past decade, the art of cartoons and comics has really taken off in Tanzania. At present there are dozens of cartoonists, some of whom are well known throughout the country. From the 1960's on, a number of artists prepared the way, and their names are cited by today's artists as essential influences (also see the excellent history of cartoons in Tanzania at the Worldcomics website).

Cartoon (right): If you register for voting, don't forget to vote for me! If you do, I will make sure it will rain every day.
- We are tired of those false promises!
(Christian Gregory, in Uhuru of 14 August 1980)

Among the early cartoon characters was Chakubanga, drawn by Christian Gregory for Uhuru newspaper from 1967 on. Stylistically, the cartoons of Philip Ndunguru made a big impact. The characters he created, such as Madenge, Komredi Kipepe and Lodi Lofa, live on in today's humour comic magazines. When he passed away in 1986, other artists were needed to draw in Ndunguru's style. That's where Ibra Radi Washokera came up, and after him John Kaduma.

Initially, Sani controlled the market of humour mags but when Kaduma switched to Bongo magazine, competition intensified. In the mid 90's, Kaduma moved again to Tabasamu. By the time he died, all the comic magazines had come to prefer the new Tanzanian style of drawing. Other popular cartoon artists that emerged in the 80's and 90's include Gayo, whose Kingo cartoon strip became quite popular throughout East Africa.

Cartoon (left): This is the ninth day that I haven't drunk, it seems like I am no longer an alcoholic.
- Without a doubt you were simply broke all the time! I know this...
(Christian Gregory, in Uhuru of 5 May 1980)

THE AGE OF POLITICAL CARTOONS

Ours is to caricature people, politicians especially. But this doesn't mean that government officers should come after us with big sticks. Nor should newspapers editors manipulate us
- Kenyan cartoonist Maddo (Paul Kelemba)

In the late 90's, the comic magazines and newspapers publishing cartoons got fresh company from the cartoon weeklies of Sanifu, Risasi and others styled on the same ideas. They were instant hits and created a new outlet for the expressions of more openly political cartoonists such as Masoud Kipanya, Kijasti and Fred Halla. Their views didn't go unnoticed: both their audience and the subjects of their cartoons agreed that cartoons present a powerful message.

Masoud explains how the opportunities for cartoonists changed:
"Let me say 5, 6, 7 years back we used to have a lot of cartoon publications. We started with Sanifu, after that a lot of newspapers came up. At Business Times we had Sanifu but it was published nearly every day. And by then a lot of artists had a place to show their skills, to air our views.
By then we were doing political cartoons. The government took us as these people are just playing, you see. But then the impact started to be seen. Because cartoonists became the voice of the poor people. We predicted things, spoke to the politicians, we told them things, we made them understand what is happening, what they were supposed to do as politicians, as leaders.

For the past 10 years I have seen the impact, I got feedback from the people saying that Massoud you are doing great, at least we see you are talking on our behalf. People seem to understand, the politicians sometimes also change, whenever they look at these artworks they feel ashamed to be drawn. So some say: we are not gonna [cause] any problems, because otherwise I will be punished in the newspapers. So I think the impact has been there and I think it will always be there.
As cartoons became more popular, some cartoonists were faced with restricted artistic freedom. Mickey recalls: "I used to work with Business Times and Majira newspaper in the past and I used to freelance as a cartoonist. Professionally I was not an artist, but out of interest, when Sanifu was first published inside Majira newspaper - it used to be published once a week on Sunday. In the first four issues I used to take part in the publication. We were quite free to express ourselves. But these days we are too limited. And this is because the truth is always powerful. Even if someone has got maybe economical or political power, but the truth is more power[ful] than that. So you find that cartoonists are taken as people who are threatening those people who are abusing power. And when it comes to justice they say that all people are equal before justice there is fairness. But there are some people who are above the law."

The cartoonists who have gathered in PACT have good hope that the internet will help them to freely discuss matters that can't be discussed in the Tanzanian papers. As Masoud puts it: "There are so many things that are taking place in the world right now, in Tanzania and the world. I'd like to talk about these things, Nathan, Mickey and Fred as well and the rest of the cartoonists. To me at least I have a space though I am being censored. But some of these people don't have a place where they can express for the benefit of society."

Partly based on interviews with Fred Halla, April 2003, and with Masoud Kipanya and Mickey, February 2002

The short answer is: Yes! A closer look, especially after some experience and time in Accra, the nation's capital, clearly reveals the fact that not all citizens of Ghana are bad people. In fact, it's largely the contrary. Where poverty runs deep, as it does in Ghana and Nigeria, however, the attraction to easy money has caught the attention of many, and scam operations are growing faster and more out of control than any time in history.

Are there any beautiful, white and English speaking women in Ghana? The answer to this question is: Not many. Scammers in Ghana have learned from their neighbors in Nigeria, the founder of the imfamous 419 scam. These days, scammers are increasing their level of sophistication and it no longer takes a "fool" to be a victim of scam. Ghana fraud rings invest careful time with their victims, setting up a relationship of trust, confidence and if possible, love. Once the romance is established, the scammer makes his move. This is typically in the form of an emergency, help with a visa, a large inheritance and legal problem, etc.

Is it possible to have a real, honest and lasting relationship with someone in Ghana? Yes, it is possible. Are there foreigners living and working in Ghana who speak English? Yes, of course. Does the level of fraud and professional scams being operated from that country warrant the need for a background check to verify any relationship in Ghana? Yes, absolutely! It's the only way.

The moral of the story is, no matter what the circumstances, no matter where the person was met, either on the Internet or in person, if the individual is from or currently living in Ghana, due to the extreme level of scam activity in that country, we strongly advise a background check, of which Wymoo offers the most comprehensive services for the West Africa region. And lastly, never send money to any individual overseas who is not known in person or who has not been verified via a professional.

Be safe and best of luck,

Lindblom (1920:p419)[1]: “The boys and girls play “father, mother and children” together. They build small huts of grass and imitate grown-ups, an imitation which is sometimes so carefully done that not even the sexual part of marriage is omitted. As is well known, such things cease to be a mystery to children of primitive people at a very early age”. Ndeti (1973:p109)[2] adds that the “period before puberty is characterized by very little sex education and sexual differentiation. Perhaps there is no need for this because sex roles are defined fairly early in life”. Girls are instructed at menarche by the mother or, in most cases, the grandmother. At this time, they may be ritually deflowered by a stick, while boys receive additional genital surgery beyond the circumcision they had at a younger age (Nida, 1962)[3]. Muthiani (1973:p55)[4] notes that “[s]ex education was the responsibility of the parents and, [in the case of girls,] the mothers. Girls had to be brought up to know not only what kind of people they should refrain from on the basis of sexual relations, but also when and where not to have sexual contact. With their little biological knowledge, they managed to train their girls to the best of their limited ability; thereby training them for avoidance (breaking of sexual mores). As a result, cases of incest and premarital births or even pregnancies were very, very rare”. The same could be true for boys. A girl was not desirable in marriage until she has conceived (Eloit, 1:p125)[5]. During the second of puberty rites (age 15 or so), boys perform symbolic sexual acts on girls with special sticks (Mbiti, [1990:p121]). Marriage does not take place after circumcision or menarche (Kyewalyanga, 1977:p42). Clitoridectomy is practiced at ages unassociated with puberty, sometimes at age 4 or 5 (Middleton and Kershaw, 1965:p80)[6]. A man is not punished if he fornicates with a girl past puberty, even if part of the bride price has been paid, provided no pregnancy results; if she is prepubertal, he pays a goat. If he commits “unnatural” behaviour with a boy, a rare thing among the Kamba, he pays a goat and a bull (Penwill, 1951:p73, 74, 76)[7].

Blount (1973:p325)[2]: “Young Luo boys begin to experiment with sex when they are four to six years of age, but their behaviour is severely criticized and restricted. As mobility is limited, boys are first interested in girls who reside in the immediate vicinity, and due to residential patterns, these girls are close relatives. Sexual relations with them are incestuous and although this concept is not immediately understood by a young boy, he quickly learns that they are not “available sex playmates”. If need be, a young boy will be sent to stay with a relative to remove him from temptation of nearby female cousins or sisters. Only after a boy becomes a youth, at the approximate age of 13 to 15 years, is there opportunity for considerable contact with members of the opposite sex”. Luo boys are said to practice a preputial conditioning at the age of 10 to 12 (Parkin, 1973:p335-6)[3]. Schoolgirls begin to take a great interest in romantic aspirations, and eagerly await thelarche (Ominde, 1952)[4]. The marital cycle “proceeding” to the act of childbearing, is imitated (p31). Genitals are compared, and “something approaching a crude sexual intercourse” takes place when older members of the family are absent.
During the period when the crops are ripening these older children, sometimes accompanied by younger ones who act as sentries, disappear into the cornfields to carry out this practice”. The parental reaction is one of reproach and restriction. Before age eleven, restrictions of exogamy are suggested to the girls. The girls learn from the coquetry and customs of more mature girls with whom they sleep. Sexual instruction for girls took place within the swindhe, a form of communal living (Cohen and Odhiambo, 1989)[5].

Child betrothal (p92) or marriage (p117) may take place (Wilson, 1961)[6], but this seems a peripheral custom. Child marriage (nyar osiep) includes marriage ceremonies without consummation (cf., Kyewalyanga, 1977:p24)[7].

"Postpartum depression is a common, but frequently unrecognized, devastating mood disorder," says Kathryn Leopold, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics at Albany Medical Center in New York.

Postpartum depression (developed within six weeks of delivery) is severe and long-lasting, with symptoms including:

# Anxiety, sadness or despair (constant mental basketcase and bitchy attitude)
# Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, especially failure at motherhood (you will be blamed for everything she does wrong)
# Loss of interest in usually pleasurable activities (sex stops, constant nagging starts)
# Difficulty concentrating or making decisions (similar to mentally retarded child)
# Fatigue (did nothing the whole day, yet always tired)
# Changes in appetite or sleep (becomes fat, then obese)
# Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide (completely mentally insane)



67% of "women of independent minds" agree that they are mentally messed up. And that's before they give birth and have Postpartum depression on top of their existing mental problems. Truly scary stuff.

Miss Universe 2007 arrival welcome video


Miss Universe 2007 Swimsuit Photos

Female circumcision marked the cut-off point between child and woman, signifying the transition from the state of ignorance, inactivity, impotence, and asexuality into one of activity, knowledge and reproduction (Mbiti, 1969:p123; Nelson, 1987:p221)[1]. Kenyatta (1939 [1961:p159, 161])[2]: “[…] a Gikuyu man has been taught from childhood to develop the technique of self-control in the matter of sex […] During early childhood parents talk freely to their children explaining all matters connected with sexual taboos”. Pre-initiation masturbation is considered “right and proper”; afterwards, it is said to be abandoned and referred to as a babyish habit. Girls are told it is “wrong” (p162). Formalised sex instruction is offered to girls in an initiation ceremony including circumcision (Leakey, 1931)[3].

Occasional infant and child betrothal was noted by (Routledge, 1910: p124-5)[4]. Dundas (1915:p284)[5] stated that infant betrothal was common. Usually, however, the betrothal is a girl’s own affair.

The Pre-Colonial Kikuyu were said to practice “incomplete sex play” known as ngwiko after initiation at puberty (Ahlberg, 1991:p61)[6]. Sexual intercourse is part of initiation ceremonies of both boys and girls (Lambert, 1956:p54-5; see also p34-5)[7]. For girls, it required full intercourse before nuptial age, “to be wiped clean from the soot of the knife” (kuhuuruo mbiro ya ruenji). It would take place before menarche (to avoid pregnancy)[8], and should lead to defloration (but not wholly, since virginity was valued [!]). Elders say that girls got rid of their “initiation dirt” by intercourse with immature and uninitiated boys (a heinous offence on the part of an initiated girl except for this one purpose), who, not having reached the stage when sex was socially important, would not suffer from the taint”.

During the irua ceremony, relatives and friends of the novice sing about sexual knowledge and the rules governing social relationships between men and women to acquaint the initiates with their future adult roles (Kenyatta, 1938:p141)[9]. For the ceremony, girls must be menarchal, and must not have had sexual intercourse or experience with masturbation (Bunche, 1941:p)[10]. The songs at the mugumo tree impart knowledge about sexuality and how to comport oneself in sexual relationships.

Consummation of marriage was a recognised event (Leakey, 1977 [II]:p381-3)[11], and there were routine instructions for brides and grooms (p786-8). Sexual intercourse before initiation was strictly forbidden, and it was said it would show after operation: the wounds would not heal properly (I, p398, 410). Taking advantage of the few opportunities for breaking the rule we met by severe beatings. Initiation age was lowered with the arrival of Europeans, from 17/18 to 14/15 (II, p587-8); girls were initiated at age 12 (“when their breasts were only partially formed”), though elders indicated menarche age was lowered compared to the old days. Ritual sexual intercourse is witnessed by the initiates at various occasions.

Boys up to ages 14/15 were allowed to play at mutual masturbation and sexual intercourse with girls (II, p584); afterwards, it was forbidden out of fear that they would abuse little girls. Big boys would have to settle with masturbation, sex with barren married women, or with goats or sheep, the latter both being tabooed. Most 14/15 year olds build huts proudly announced as their thingira (men’s hut), inviting boys and girls to

“play sexually in imitation of their initiated brothers and sisters. As the parents were fully aware of what went on and knew that these boys and girls would lie together, they constantly warned them that in no circumstance were they to attempt to have actual sexual intercourse, and that they had to content themselves with fondling and cuddling each other. Occasionally a boy and girl would disobey this rule, and because of this many mothers would regularly examine their daughters’ genitalia. Knowledge that there would be this examination from time to time was usually enough to make the little girls careful to obey the rules laid down for them. They knew that if they allowed the bigger boys to have full intercourse they would be found out and severely punished. For their part the boys were constantly warned that if they did more than simply play at sex, they would do themselves harm, and that when they were circumcised they would not heal quickly. Naturally, both boys and girls grew up with a considerable knowledge of sex, for in addition to what they heard and saw of the behaviour of the grown-ups, they were also taught a great deal by their parents when being told of the prohibition against full intercourse” (II, p584-5).

Decline of the age-set system, schooling, the gweko custom, and the delay of integration of sex education has changed recent matters (Worthman and Whiting, 1987)[12]. Today, Ahlberg et al.[13] argue, circumcision still symbolises becoming a Kikuyu adult, it is now performed in a clinic and no longer includes the ceremonies and open discourse that formerly conveyed sexual knowledge combined with strict social controls regulating sexual behaviour. The changes have resulted in “numerous discrepancies between cognition and practice”: although parents believe sexual intercourse should be restricted to marriage, they have employed “a prohibitive silence” that is misinterpreted by youth who have little reliable knowledge about sexual matters.

Sexual exploitation of children in Kenya has reached very high levels, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) stated in a report launched today in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. In some districts, up 30 percent of young girls were engaged in the sex trade, which in particular follows the tourism industry. But Kenyans are the biggest group of customers.

A study by UNICEF and the Kenyan government found that at least 15,000 girls in four districts on the Kenyan coast - Mombasa, Kilifi, Malindi and Kwale - were engaged in casual sex-for-cash.

"These girls, aged 12 to 18 years, make up 30 percent of the total population of girls from these districts in this age range," UNICEF said. "A further two to three thousand girls and boys are involved in full-time sex-for cash. Some of them are paid to perform the most horrific and abnormal acts."

According to UNICEF, at least 45 percent of the girls in the survey began selling sex for cash, goods or favours at only 12 or 13. More than 10 percent of girls involved in prostitution began transactional sex when they were younger than 12.

According to the report, while many children are driven into transactional sex because of poverty, the high level of acceptance of child sex work in a significant group linked with tourism and beach commerce makes it relatively easy for children to drift into casual sex in exchange for no more than extra pocket money.

Kenyan Vice President Moody Awori, who launched the report, said sexual exploitation of children in the country was a "shocking reality" and "a vice that continues to grow to horrific magnitude particularly around the coastal region".

The study shows that Kenyan men are the worst culprits in sexual exploitation of children, making up 38 percent of the clients.

"Among tourists, Italians, Germans and Swiss ranked as the most common clients of child sex workers at 18 percent, 14 percent and 12 percent respectively," UNICEF said. "Ugandans and Tanzanians rank fifth and sixth in the client group, while British and Saudi Arabian men ranked seventh and eighth - but representatives of virtually every nationality visiting Kenya are named in the report."

Vice President Awori said the government was taking steps to promote responsible tourism: "To combat exploitation of Kenyan children by tourists, the government now requires all foreigners to state their residential address in Kenya before being allowed into the country - which helps us to monitor foreigners' activities. We will also work with other governments to urge their cooperation in promoting responsible tourism."

UNICEF’s Kenya representative, Heimo Laakkonen, said: "Tourists and Kenyans who abuse children must be arrested, brought to trial and punished. Children who are exploited for sex are the victims, they are being abused."

Mr Laakkonen said there was a need to scale-up programmes promoting responsible tourism and expand endorsement of the Code of Conduct, which binds hoteliers and their staff to report the abuse and suspected abuse of children on their premises.

"Tourists must be made aware, right from their points of origin, that Kenya is a no-go zone for sexual exploiters of children," he said. He added that the findings of the study was part of a wider campaign by the government, UNICEF, civil society, religious organisations and the private sector in Kenya to stop violence against children.

Sexual exploitation of children is a criminal offence under Kenya's Penal Code, but the study showed an extremely high level of acceptance of commercial sex involving children.

The sexual exploitation of children is not limited to coastal areas or to tourists, but is found across Kenya. About one in 10 children involved in sex work is initiated before they reach puberty, the report states. "It reflects a failure of the authorities to provide protection to children and to prosecute those responsible for promoting and profiting from child sex work," the report added.

The report recommends that the Kenyan government, civil society, the tourist industry, and broader private sector urgently come together to prevent and end the sexual exploitation of children.

By UN agency IRIN

MYTH 1: The US was founded on Christian principles.

TRUTH:

This is incorrect.

The Constitution never once mentions a deity, because the Founding Fathers wanted to keep their new country "religion-neutral." Our Founding Fathers were an eclectic collection of Atheists, Deists, Christians, Freemasons and Agnostics.

George Washington, the Father of our country, and John Adams (Second President of the USA) CLEARLY stated in the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli: "The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion.”

G.W. rarely attended church and instead followed a popular 18th century philosophy called Deism—a Star Wars-esque philosophy that believed in a cosmic energy or big-ass universal "Force." The dictionary says that Deism is "a system of thought advocating natural religion based on human reason rather than revelation," that had nothing to do with Christian principles.

James Madison, original mastermind of our Constitution, was an Atheist to the core who loved skewering Christianity. In 1785 he wrote, "What have been [Christianity’s] fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.”

Thomas Jefferson, who sat down and authored The Declaration of Independence, rarely missed an opportunity to laugh at Christianity. In a letter to John Adams in 1823, he wrote: "The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus…will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

More ammo: In 1814, Tommy J. wrote about the Bible's Old and New Testaments, "The whole history of these books is so defective and doubtful -- evidence that parts have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds.”

In fact, it was President Jefferson himself who first wrote (to a Baptist church group in 1802), "The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between Church and State." Therefore, when Jefferson talked about “Nature’s God,” the “Creator” and “divine Providence ” in the Declaration that he wrote, he was being a hippie and referring to a general cosmic energy-- not the Christian God.

America is not a Christian nation. Period. Our Constitution derived from the post-Christian Enlightenment values of reason and truth...never from the paranoid yammerings of that otherwise compassionate cult leader who fucking died in the Middle Eastern desert 3000 years ago.

MYTH 2: US Conservatives tend to be patriotic, ethical Americans; liberals tend to hate America and are immoral.

TRUTH:

Liberals aren't the traitors to America. In fact, conservatives who insist on sending American troops into the Iraqi slaughterhouse to watch some blood-n'-guts "towelhead" ass-kickin' are the traitors. Most of them could care less about our troops, no more than Mao or Stalin cared about the safety of their own soldiers. In the neocons' view, these young boys and girls are expendable test dummies. They're dying for virtually nothing, so that the hicks in the Bush Admin can make good on their campaign promises to their buddies from the petroleum and infrastructure-rebuilding industries. By revving up the Arab threat, these MFs can scream "national security" and "freedom" as smokescreens, while getting their hands on a diminishing resource: Middle Eastern fossil fuels, which power everything from your lightbulbs and computer that you leave on all night, to your stupid gas-guzzler pickup truck.

Pro-war conservatives are the traitors to America. With only 29% of the public approving of Bush's policies now, it took a full 5 years for America to finally wake up in bed next to this disgusting fact.

Do liberals hate America? No, in fact they care so much about the USA that they fight so aggressively to make it better. They're not anti-American; they're just anti-stupidity. Do liberals hate American policies? Sometimes, but only the self-destructive ones that threaten human rights, liberty, democracy, justice, inquiry, excellence and reason-- the values that our country was founded upon.

As for conservative moral superiority? Frauds. Think of the child-molesting priests, money-scamming televangelist preachers, Jack Abramoff's friends in the Bush Admin, gay-hating Jesus lovers, the Christians who beat up the professor who opposed intelligent design, human rights violators like Lynndie England and her Abu Ghraib hick officer pals, Tommy "Scandal-icious" Delay, Scooter "Leaky" Libby, the entire K Street Project meant to hire only Republicans, FEMA's Michael "Yer doin' a heckuva job" Brownie, and so on.

Oh and by the way, conservative Red states have a divorce rate 27% higher than the liberal Blue states, the per capita rate of violent crime in Red states is 49 per 100,000 higher than in Blue states, the top 5 states with the highest rates of alcohol abuse are Red states, and the per capita rate of gonorrhea in Red states was 41 per 100,000 higher than in the Blue states. Time to unshelf the antibiotics for our "ethical," "God-fearing" conservative friends with their "traditional family values."

MYTH 3. The US has a liberal media.

TRUTH:

This is a paranoid Republican myth.

Reality check: the US media is a mix of liberal, centrist and conservative voices. Also, the US media is largely owned by 10 corporations who frequently push pro-conservative agendas to the American public. Evidence:

1. Even Republican Pat Buchanan confessed, "For heaven sakes, we kid about the liberal media, but every Republican on earth does that." Neo-conservative pundit Bill Kristol also said, "I admit it: the liberal media were never that powerful, and the whole thing was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures."

2. A 2005 study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that "coverage by public television and radio is conservative compared to the rest of the mainstream media." Why? Partly because only four major corporate networks control American TV news-- up to 75% of the audience share. The "Big 10" media conglomerates who control the bulk of the entire US media are: AOL Time Warner, Disney, General Electric, News Corporation, Viacom, Vivendi, Sony, Bertelsmann, AT&T and Liberty Media. Yes, we have National Public Radio, but compare its public reach to that of Canada's CBC and the United Kingdom's BBC.

3. Eighty percent of all US newspapers are owned by corporate chains.

4. Liberals are virtually non-existent on talk radio stations nationwide. Rush and Dr. Laura, eat your hearts out.

5. Conservatives are very well accomodated for across FOX News, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, the New York Post, the American Spectator, the Weekly Standard, the Drudge Report, the National Review, etc. Even so-called "bastions of liberalism," e.g. the NY Times, MSNBC, WashPost and NPR make a concerted effort to be "fair and balanced" by bringing in right-wing views like those of David Brooks, Joe Scarborough, Tucker Carlson, Charles Krauthammer and Cokie Roberts to have their say in these forums, respectively. This is in stark contrast to FOX News' claims to unbiased objectivity, which were easily demolished by Robert Greenwald in 2004.

6. Contrary to what some paranoid Republicans claim, most journalists are centrists, not liberals. A representative sample of 141 US journalists and bureau chiefs were asked in 1998, "On social issues, how would you characterize your political orientation?" Answers: Left 30%, Center 57%, Right 9%, Other 5% . Next question, same sample: "On economic issues, how would you characterize your political orientation? " Answers: Left 11%, Center 64%, Right 19%, Other 5%. Also, look at the total number of think tank citations in major newspapers, radio and TV transcripts: Conservative TTs: 7792, Centrist TTs: 6361, Liberal TTs: 1152.

7. Eric Alterman summarizes a 1999 research study from the academic journal Communications Research: "Four scholars examined the use of the 'liberal media' argument and discovered a fourfold increase in the number of Americans telling pollsters that they discerned a liberal bias in their news. But a review of the media's actual ideological content, collected and coded over a twelve-year period, offered no corroboration whatever for this view."

MYTH 4. The US doesn’t need improvement compared to other countries; it is the greatest country in the world.

TRUTH:

Wrong again. I'll only cite the statistics here.

USA Ranking on Adult Literacy Scale: #9

(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- OECD

USA Ranking on Healthcare Quality Index: #37

(#1 France and #2 Italy)- World Health Organization 2003

USA Ranking of Student Reading Ability: #12

(#1 Finland and #2 South Korea)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking of Student Problem Solving Ability: #26

(#1 South Korea and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking on Student Mathematics Ability: # 24

(#1 Hong Kong and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking of Student Science Ability: #19

(#1 Finland and #2 Japan)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking on Women's Rights Scale: #17

(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- World Economic Forum Report

USA Position on Timeline of Gay Rights Progress: # 6 (1997)

(#1 Sweden 1987 and #2 Norway 1993)- Vexen

USA Ranking on Life Expectancy: #29

(#1 Japan and #2 Hong Kong)- UN Human Development Report 2005

USA Ranking on Journalistic Press Freedom Index: #32

(#1 Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands tied)- Reporters Without Borders 2005

USA Ranking on Political Corruption Index: #17

(#1 Iceland and #2 Finland)- Transparency International 2005

USA Ranking on Quality of Life Survey: #13

(#1 Ireland and #2 Switzerland)- The Economist Magazine ...Wikipedia "Celtic Tiger" if you still have your doubts.

USA Ranking on Environmental Sustainability Index: #45

(#1 Finland and #2 Norway)- Yale University ESI 2005

USA Ranking on Overall Currency Strength: #3 (US Dollar)

(#1 UK pound sterling and #2 European Union euro)- FTSE 2006....the dollar is now a liability, so many banks worldwide have planned to switch to euro

USA Ranking on Infant Mortality Rate: #32

(#1 Sweden and #2 Finland)- Save the Children Report 2006

USA Ranking on Human Development Index (GDP, education, etc.): #10

(#1 Norway and #2 Iceland)- UN Human Development Report 2005

So much for those "socialist" Europeans and those "backward" Asians, hm?

We can do better than this.

Miscellany:

*Only 18% of Americans own passports and bother to travel outside of the US.

* 85% of US soldiers in Iraq believe that they are there to get revenge for 9/11.

* New international student enrollment in US grad schools has decreased by 6%, because of xenophobic post-9/11 US visa restrictions, jacked-up tuition fees and better educational opportunities in the EU and Asia. So no, not everyone wants to come here anymore, because it's become a land of incredibly limited opportunity, and we've lowered our educational standards.

MYTH 5: The US government loves to help other countries.

TRUTH:

This is a myth. The US government tends to be motivated by interests, not humanitarian principles.

Denmark gives the most amount of its GDP (1.01%) to developing countries; Norway gives 0.91%; the Netherlands give 0.79% and so on until the end of list, where the USA sits. Yes, America ranks DEAD LAST in foreign aid at a pathetic 0.1% of its GDP, compared to the other 21 nations listed as developed nations. The idea that the US government is a heroic bunch that runs around the world helping the poor and the disempowered is not backed up by the evidence. We have one of the stingiest governments on earth.

Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor countries; the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%. Our country also ranks #5 on asylum-seeker acceptance rates (#1 is Denmark and #2 is Canada).

For you self-congratulatory, redneck-inspired conservative fuckwads who will start to say, "B-b-b-but you're anti-American! M-m-m-moonbat! G-g-g-god bless the USA!" I answer, "Go fuck yourself. We can do better." Stop blindly believing everything your president tells you. Come back to us only when you start realizing that the $400 billion your president has allocated to his Roman Empire-style military overstretch could be better spent on correcting the sociopolitical and economic problems in the arenas that I've listed above

The Umhlanga (Reed Dance) is a traditional dance where twenty to thirty thousand of Swaziland’s maidens congregate and dance for the public. This tradition has existed for a very long time. It usually takes place around August when the weather is less harsh and the reed has matured. Thousands of maidens from all parts of Swaziland attend the reed dance.

The initial reason for this tradition was to encourage young women to abstain from sexual activities and preserve their virginities until they were matured enough to get married, according to E MKHONTA at Dansa college . It also prepares the girls for marriage as during their stay at the camps before the actual dance they are given certain tasks to perform in groups. Since there is a lot of groupwork involved, good communication skills are developed that help in solving a lot of problems in marriages. There are also elder women at the camps that advise the girls on marriage related issues and how to handle themselves in a dignified manner.

The night after their arrival at the camps, after supper, the girls set off to the destination where they are to pick the reed by foot. It is a very long distance from the camps and the trip may take the whole night. This is not a problem because the girls chuckle and share their life experiances with one another, entertaining one another along the way. Each girl may pick about ten reeds.

On the next day, after breakfast, the girls put on their traditional attire, which consists of a beaded necklace with colours of the Swazi flag called ligcebesha, colourful beads with wooly tassels which are hung from the left shoulder to the right hip “umgaco”, a low cut and short beaded skirt called indlamu and brown anklets with oval shaped attachments “emafahlawane” and tassels on the head called umcwasho that come in different colours: blue for kids, yellow for teenagers and red for the more mature maidens. After dressing up, they take their reeds to the royal village which is quite a distance from the camps. There it is used to make wind breakers of the queen mother’s house-Anon.

The whole celebration takes three days, of which on the last day there is the actual dance. On the morning of this day the girls are delivered by government vehicles to a stadium where the interested public is waiting to watch, including royalty. The girls show up in their traditional attires and looking their best to be presentable to the public. On this day the king Mswati III delivers a speech addressing his subjects on wide ranging issues like HIV/AIDS and so do other known personalities of the country depending on who is featured on the programme. This day attracks a lot of tourists to the country.

As the girls dance, the spectators may join the dance [kugiya] or throw money at their feet in appreciation of the good dance. The king is allowed to pick one of the maidens to be his bride. On September 6, 2004, he chose a sixteen-year-old reed dance participant and finalist from Miss Teenage Swaziland as a fiancée, to join his eleven wives and one other fiancée-The maidens do not gather specifically for the king and they are not forced to attend the ceremony. It is by choice that they attend the reed dance.

The Fon( King ) is the brother of courageous and powerful animals. At night, he has the power to transform himself into a panther, where he haunts the forest, runs through the savana and drinks from torrents. When a panther is killed by a hunter, the Fon from Bamileke region are afraid. Will one of them not perish from the death of his double.

Formerly a chief administator and cabinet chief for the finance Minister of Cameroun in 1964, Kamga Joseph is the thirteenth Fon of Bandjun. On the day of his predecessor's funeral, he was stopped in the Bandjun market by two Bamileke chiefs, "the hangmen", in the middle of the nobles and princes who wept the deceased King. Wearing a head dress made of sisal as a sign of humility, he was taken to the noblemen, the "tafo meru", where he learned during nine weeks how to be a King. Formerly this apprenticeship lasted nine months. During his retreat, the souverain is accompagned by the "nrounq"( love ), a woman he married before his coronation, and the "djvikam", the wife of a nobleman who becomes the first queen. He then returns to the palace, "tsa", where he is responsible for the wives of the defunct Fon, who become his wives.

In 1980, Sijuwade became the fiftieth Oni( King ) of Ife, one of the most ancient African Dynasties.

Formerly, during his coronation, an Oni had to embrace the sword of justice, and enter into his palace on a cloth stiffened by the dry blood of sacrificed men and women.

Today the Oni is a rich businessman, with several vaste properties in Nigeria and England.

According to legend, Oduduwa, the first king of Ife, was expulsed from Mecca by the moslem party. In order to avenge him, Oranyan his great grandson, undertook a punitive expedition which never made it, because of a quarrel with his brothers. Vexed, Oranyan refused to return to Ife. He installed himself in Oyo, leaving his treasures and fetishes with Adimu, his loyal servant. Adimu was the son of a slave, spared from being sacrificed because she was pregnant.

With time, Adimu became the king of Ife, under the name of Oni, which is a contraction of the phrase "omo olowoni", meaning the child of the victim to be sacrificed.

Representing the Abomey dynasty, Joseph Langanfin is the president of CAFRA, the council of Abomey's royal families. With this title, he is considered as the official representative of the kings of Abomey.
He presided at the centenary ceremonies for the death of King Glele, who was his great granfather.

In 1889, following the funeral services of King Glele, his son Kondo was coronated under the name of Gbehanzin, a contraction which means, "the world holds the egg that the earth desires", and took the shark as his royal emblem. The Shark-King wanted to push back Europeans comming from the sea. Since the Berlin treaty in 1884, which divided Africa between European powers, the Kingdom of Abomey excited the envy of the French, who wanted to stop the English progression into the gulf of Guinea.

" The King does not give his country to anyone, ancestral lands are sacred" he told the French, who found with him a serious opponent.

The documentary, directed by Hubert Sauper, focuses on the area surrounding Lake Victoria in the African country of Tanzania. The lake has been over-run by the Nile Perch, a large fresh-water fish that was accidentally introduced 50 years ago. This has created a huge supply of fish for export to Europe, which has made a few businessmen quite wealthy and provided jobs for many of the people who live around the like. But the species has decimated the eco-system, including the smaller fish that used to provide much of the food for Tanzania's population. And because Europeans can pay much more for the Nile Perch than ordinary Tanzanians, few of the people living around the lake and in the wider countryside can afford to eat what was once a staple of their lifestyle. Economists talk about globalization bringing down the price of commodities, but the opposite is often true in the Third World.

Sauper does a nice job of giving the feel of the lake towns, interviewing everyone from the owner of the fish factory to the pilots who fly the food back to Europe to the homeless boys who eke out an existence on the street. He spends much more time with the marginalized Africans than with the ecologists and economists who are often trotted out in these kinds of movies. This helps us understand how the problem has impacted the native townsfolk, though it makes it harder for us to understand the full scale of the problem. We see the particular rather than the general. But given how often economists and politicians talk about Africa and globalization in general terms, I welcome a movie that shows us how those abstractions are impacting specific people.

Darwin's Nightmare is shot in ugly-looking digital video, but the format certainly makes it easier to get the range of interviews Sauper does. A pair of scenes that focus on a group of boys is both touching and harrowing, as is a long sequence that shows how resourceful Africans use the cast-offs from the fish factories. Sauper also spends a great deal of time shooting the apparently empty planes that fly into the local airport. At first, it seems as if he's emphasizing that Europe doesn't provide anything to Africa in return for the food. But he finally gets around to the presumption that illegal arms shipments are actually flying in. That's an even more provocative argument--that Europe takes Africa's food and offers only warfare in return--and the film would've been helped if that argument had been made earlier on. Still, this is a compelling examination on the impact of globalization and a heart-felt look at an area of the world we rarely see.

While I agree with sex educator Cory Silverberg's prediction that spray-on contraceptive membranes for men and women probably won't become available in North America for quite some time, if ever, I would love to get all sci-fi with the concept. Flavors, colors, textures, zebra print -- you could do all kinds of things with less reduction of sensation than today's condoms provide.

Every so often I wonder why we haven't yet figured out how to make condoms effective yet indetectable.

Mwanza Citizen talking about Darwin's Nightmare. The Making of Darwin's Nightmare.