Blogs

Below are some links of interest that came to my attention. I may try to post these sorts of general updates more frequently in the future. No promises, though.

Last week, Germany returned some of the skulls in its posession for over 100 years from its genocide of the Herero people to what is now Namibia. Some 65,000 (to follow the UN; estimates vary wildly) were killed, 85 percent of the population in three years. The German government continues to reject the idea of reparations.

--smf

Not that I expect much from Crimethinc but their "Dear Occupiers: A letter from anarchists" statement contains the usual boilerplate along with some predictably bad politics.

Here is their attempt to promote property destruction through a series of silly formulations:

The South African Relief Agency (SARA)'s 'South Africa to Gaza' land convoy is, at last word, nearing Rafah. It aims to: "Break the illegal and immoral siege on Gaza" and "Embody the support and solidarity of the African people with the people of Palestine."

The convoy has made its way from South Africa to Egypt by way of "Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia & Sudan."

A community in South Sudan has just emerged victorious in a land-grab battle with a U.S. based firm. My entry at Focal Points today:

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, lately under criticism for being too dovish (for having the temerity to suggest - on tactical grounds, mind you - that Turkey should receive an apology for the extrajudicial massacre of Turkish civilians last year on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla), sounded rather like Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir last Sunday.

The U.S. Africa military command, Africom, has waisted no time in cementing relations with the new country of South Sudan. In a story datelined August 24th, Sudan Tribune reports:

“The Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Carter F. Ham arrived in South Sudan capital of Juba for talks on the government’s strategy to boost internal security in the newly established state. …. [President] Kiir called for Washington’s help in building the military capacity of South Sudan.

The video from my August 9th appearance discussing my experiences in Athens on the Berks County community television program Centering on Peace, hosted by John Hoskyns-Abrahall, is now available online. Let me know if it turned out okay - I can't stand to watch or listen to myself in media appearances.

Gadhafi’s compound has been discovered to contain “a photo album filled with page after page of pictures of Condoleezza Rice.”

As the MSNBC piece notes, Gadhafi said of Rice in 2007, "I support my darling black African woman. …. I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders ... Leezza, Leezza, Leezza. ... I love her very much.”

The Herald (Zimbabwe) is upset with Chomsky.

"DR NOAM CHOMSKY, professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is often hailed, by many, as the moral conscience of America on many global issues such as Palestine/Israel, inexplicably lost his moral compass when asked to comment on Zimbabwe during a recent interview with globalbreakingnews.com. .... "Mugabe is a monster who has caused irreparable harm," Chomsky ranted, referring to Zimbabwe's President."