Sooooo glad I've got my iPod as it means I've been able to download lots of podcasts to listen to (although to be honest I've mainly been listening to soca :) and today, fell in love with Stevie Wonder all over again. Ebony eyes - oh lawd!) but glad I can download Democracy Now and Chomsky lectures and recently been turned onto fellow Woodhouse alumni, Johann Hari (know Mrs Grice, ex A-Level Politics teacher is super proud, especially as he's working at the Independent with Mr Grice) and he's so insightful and funny and he's listed James Baldwin as his fave ever writer, so I like him even more.
Johann spoke about the Equadorian proposal to the G8 economies to pay money to stop the extraction of oil which would destroy the Amazon. Amazing concept but as I realised today doing some reading around slavery of primary source materials from the National Archives, (and it pains me to learn the level of African collusion, really does) we know sooooooo little about EVERYTHING.
I work in the slavery field, I train teachers on the issue yet I probably know a 100th of what the actual truth is. Anyway just googled the Equadorian deal and found that the government did not do it for the preservation of the indigenous people and that other areas are still up for oil explorations. Aaaaaarggghhhh. Hurts my brain, but check out the story here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/04/ecuador-oil-drilling-deal-un
So important to keep on top of stories and question apparent truths and facts. New African perspective on the Cote d'Ivorie story is that there was UN and French collusion in ensuring that their man Ouattara won the election. The BBC and other mainstream mediums present the story in the stereotypical way, the African dictator who refuses to leave office. Historical providence would not disprove that theory. Kennedy did collude with the Belgians and the UN to assassinate Lumumba in the Congo and look where that country is after years of Western interference. I didn't want this to be a political blog but looks it's getting that way, so here are a few links. I haven't seen the video but hope that it sheds some light on the fuelling of the Congo conflict, much like Sierra Leone and diamonds.
Congo and coltan - what powers our mobiles, laptops, computer games
JFK did not enact the Civil Rights bill out of sympathy to the movement but for strategic interests to compete with the Soviet Union in co-opting the newly independent African nations
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