Category Archives: Uncategorized

Oct 2 2012

Do Sex Strikes Work? – A Special Report

This is the VOA Special English Health Report , from http://voaspecialenglish.com

Women in a civil rights group in Togo called a weeklong sex strike in August to try to force the president of the West African nation to resign. Members of “Let’s Save Togo” planned to withhold sex from their husbands to pressure the men to take action against President Faure Gnassingbe. The opposition says his family has ruled Togo for too long. He became president in 2005, shortly after the death of his father — who had held power for 38 years. Withholding sex for political goals has a long history. The idea appears in the theater of ancient Greece. In the play “Lysistrata,” the women of Athens decide to deny their husbands sex until the men end the Peloponnesian War. But do sex strikes work? Pepper Schwartz is a sociology professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. She says the idea is good for making news headlines, but it takes a lot of work. She says the sex strike is a good way to make a point for a few days. But she says that it probably will not work over a long period of time. She also notes that: “if you do stick to it too long, you might lose that other person’s willingness to support your issue.”But pro-democracy activists in Togo say a sex strike during the civil war in Liberia gave them cause for hope. In 2003, Liberia had been through 14 years of war. Leaders of the group Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace organized a series of nonviolent actions. They included a sex strike. The actions earned the group’s leader a share of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Leymah Gbowee shared the prize with two other women, including Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. She became Africa’s first democratically-elected female president in 2006. The third winner was Tawakkul Karman, a women’s rights activist in Yemen. Yaliwe Clarke teaches gender studies at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She says that the women in Togo can inspire other women in Africa just like the Mass Action for Peace in Liberia did. But sociology professor Pepper Schwartz says women need to hold real power in order for something like a sex strike to work. “They only work in proportion to the amount of power women have in a society,” she says. “In other words, you have to have a certain amount of power already to tell your husband no.” She says this depends on having a society where men respect the opinions and wishes of women. For VOA Learning English, I’m Laurel Bowman. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 05Sep2012)

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Sep 12 2012

US Consulate staff killed in Libya, following Egyptian protest

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that a U.S. State Department officer was killed in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya on Tuesday, and she has since condemned the violence.

Libyan protesters pulling down a US flag (Photo CNN.COM)

Earlier a Libyan security official reported an American was shot to death as protesters burned the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, and in Cairo, protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy and replaced an American flag with an Islamic banner.

“Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others,” she said in a statement. “But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.”

According to the BBC, it is believed the protest was held over a US-produced film that is said to be insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. The building was set on fire after armed men raided the compound with grenades.

The BBC reports that a similar protest have also been held at the US embassy in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. In the attack in Benghazi, unidentified armed men stormed the grounds, shooting at buildings and throwing handmade bombs into the compound. Security forces returned fire but Libyan officials say they were overwhelmed.

Map of Libya

Libya’s deputy interior minister Wanis al-Sharif told AFP news agency “One American official was killed and another injured in the hand. The other staff members were evacuated and are safe and sound,”

The identity of the US official killed is not yet known.

AP news says, it was the first such assaults on U.S. diplomatic facilities in either country, at a time when both Libya and Egypt are struggling to overcome the turmoil following the ouster of their longtime leaders, Moammar Gadhafi and Hosni Mubarak in uprisings last year.

Sep 11 2012

Vice President Joseph Boakai praises Liberians in Minnesota for upholding rule of law

Vice President Boakai

Liberian Vice President Joseph Boakai speaking in Brooklyn Park, MN

Liberia’s Vice President, Joseph Nyumah Boakai has praised Liberians in the United States for their good behavior and respect for the rule of law. The Liberian Vice President said he was impressed by reports he received from local authorities in the state of Minnesota about the welfare of Liberians. VP Boakai said if Liberians can exemplify such an outstanding lifestyle in the United States, he is confident that they can do the same in their home country.

Vice President Boakai spoke on Monday at Liberian community town hall meeting in the city of Brooklyn Park (Minnesota). The townhall meeting brought together Liberians of all ages, and from various ethic groups in the state of Minnesota. The townhall meeting give Liberians living in the Minnesota the opportunity to sit and chat with the Vice President about issues affecting Liberians in the US and Liberia.

VP Boakai, and Representative Eugene Fallah Kpaka of Lofa County answered questions on issues ranging from roads, health care, education, dual citizenship, truth and reconciliation, and government’s position on Gay marriage in Liberia.

In his official statement, VP Boakai commended the city of Brooklyn Park for building a sister city relationship with the city of Kakata, in Liberia. He said the Liberian government was moved by the 15member Brooklyn Park city delegation to Kakata City (in Liberia). He said the Liberian government appreciated their humility, and kindness to the sufferings of Liberians in Liberia. The Vice President stated that Liberia was happy to be seen as a friend of the greatest country in the world.

On the issue of post war reconstruction and infrastructure development, VP Boaka said that “may be people do not realize that it is easy to destroy, but it takes much longer time to rebuild” what has been destroy. He said government is making all efforts to rebuild the country. He promised the gathering that Liberia’s electricity will be restored, pipe borne water will reached other parts of the city, and that government and it partners have restored and established community colleges in every county across the country. VP Boakai emphasized that “we need to build the skill of the young people, this is why government is building community colleges”.   He noted that this will help reduce the over overpopulation of the University of Liberia, and afford young people the opportunity to live in their counties and earn a college education.  On technology, the Vice President said that government is hopeful that between October and November this year, fiber optic cable connections will reach Liberia. He said this technological boost; will enable Liberia to get on pal technologically with other countries.

He also announced that government recently registered three cargo ships to help transport goods and services along the country’s costal lines. He said this will help reduce the burden of travelling by road, especially in bad weather conditions. VP Boakai also announced that government is trying to relocate the redlight market, in order to reduce traffic congestion with in the market district.

With regards to accountability in Liberia, Vice President Boaka said this time around people can not just do things and go with impunity. He said Liberians have vow that they will not go back to war. But when asked about the implementation of the TRC report, he could not provide government position on the issue. He was quick to shift the question to Representative Kpaka, because according to him they make the laws.  About implementation of the TRC report, Representative Kpaka said Liberia and Liberians were much more in favor of restorative justice than retributive justice. Rep. Kpaka acknowledge that the TRC did a good work, but said their report was what he termed as “very ambitious”. He said it was more divisive that reconciliatory, and therefore government was open to promoting the palava -hut reconciliation method than other approaches or mechanisms that were recommended by the TRC report.

Responding to a question on oil exploration in the country, and why government signed contracts with oil companies for 50 year exploration periods, Representative Fallah – Kpaka told the gathering that the past contracts were honored during the sitting of the 52nd Legislature, and that the 53 Legislature was prepared to review some of those contracts.  On dual citizenship, the Lofa county lawmaker said, the national legislature will do its best to passed laws allowing dual citizenship for Liberians and their children who were born in the United States.

Meanwhile, Liberia Ambassador to the United States, Hon. Jeremiah C. Sulunteh in his introductory statement told Liberians and their US neighbors that “Liberia is well, our peace is sustained, our democracy is mature, and our economy is on the go forward” he said.  He maintained that the Liberian delegation visit to the Liberian community was a further manifestation of the UP led government’s plan of taking the government to the people. He said it was a habit of the Liberian government to move to the leeward counties to engage Liberians in positive discussions that result in effective community dialogue between the government and the people. “We believe that Monrovia is not Liberia, our visit here is an extension of what is happening in Liberia” he said.

It may appease you to know that Liberians in the US are concerned about the safety of the commercial motorcyclist, otherwise known as the Pemhn- Pemhn riders. A question was asked about what government is doing to protect these riders, and to minimize motorcycle related accidents. The vice President found this very amusing. He laughed, and laughed and finally chocked on these words “ there is no quick solution to the problem, a lot of the police own the pemhn-pemhns”. This according to the VP, makes it difficult to arrest or get rid of the motorcyclist. He added that it will be difficult to get the commercial motorcyclist off the street.

Vice President Joseph N. Boakai

And finally came this question, what does government stand on gay marriage? And this sounded like a night time joke to the Vice President. He laughed even harder now, and this time he shifted the question to the lonely lawmaker on the trip. Rep. Eugene Fallah – Kpaka said with regards to gay marriage that there is no law on the books in Liberia that gives credence to same sex marriage. But to the contrary, there is a law that promotes matrimony between a man and a woman. “There are no laws for gay marriage, and there are no laws against gay marriage, our culture is very clear” he said. He added that the national legislature can not waist their time to legislate laws on gay marriage. But are there gays in Liberia? According to the Vice President, he haven’t heard complaints, or protest of any kind involving people claiming to be gays in Liberia.

The Vice President is expected to visit other Liberian communities during visit to the state of Minnesota.

Sep 3 2012
Link

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2012/08/liberia

Story By: The Economist

PIRATED Hollywood blockbusters and Nigerian melodramas are usually the big sellers for Monrovia’s band of roving DVD-hawkers. But this week discerning customers in Liberia’s capital are on the lookout for “The Ambassador”, a rather peculiar Danish documentary. The country’s president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, will be hoping it never appears.

 The film follows journalist Mads Brügger on his surreal adventures posing as a corrupt Liberian diplomat in the Central African Republic, where he sets about opening a match factory for a group of pygmies. This absurd enterprise is a cover for his main scheme: to smuggle diamonds out of the country.

 What has sent the Liberian press into a frenzy is that the charlatan depicted handing out stuffed “envelopes of happiness”, dancing with inebriated pygmies, and visiting militia-run diamond mines, was in fact an official diplomatic representative of Liberia. A Dutch “diplomatic broker”, Liberia’s top corporate lawyer (who is also chairman of the ruling Unity Party), and around $185,000, facilitated Mr Brügger’s appointment as Liberian Honorary Consul and Ambassador-at-Large. His credentials were signed by President Johnson Sirleaf herself.

Liberia’s government, which has been trying to coax back investors while maintaining donor support, is not amused. The ministry of information expressed “grave consternation”, and promised to sue the “admitted fraudster”. Mrs Johnson Sirleaf vowed to seek extradition, although it is unclear what the charges would be.

Mr Brügger probably needn’t lose any sleep. His most serious crime appears to have been to make the government look silly. But the episode is an interesting illustration of a country stuck between a dark past and a bright future.

A former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, who was convicted of war crimes at the Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague in April, used to dish out diplomatic passports to a motley assortment of gun-runners, and timber- and diamond-racketeers.  In the 1990s foreign-service officials auctioned off whole embassies in foreign capitals. In prior years, state plunder was more methodical: the administration of William Tolbert, Liberia’s president from 1971 to 1980, kept records of every weird and wonderful official title it sold.

But Liberia is trying to escape its past.  Many of those, like Mrs Johnson Sirleaf, who were prominent figures in the old Liberia, are now trying to convince the world it no longer exists.  What Mr Brügger’s film shows is what everyone in Liberia already knows: the roots of the old ways exist everywhere; the challenge is keeping them at bay.

President Johnson Sirleaf’s relative success in doing so has led some in the international press to dub her “The Iron Lady”. Actually, she is the arch compromiser, seeking to balance the often competing interests of the Liberians who vote for her, the international community that funds her, and the traditional elites who have long controlled Liberian politics. This is proving increasingly difficult. Her critics argue that despite her liberal rhetoric, she has held no public officials to account, refuses to endorse gay rights or abolish the death penalty, and keeps her sons in senior positions in the country’s National Oil Company, Central Bank, and National Security Agency.

Challenges clearly lie ahead, but the furore over “The Ambassador” does offer cause for cheer. Even with his limitless funds, Mr Brügger endures a tortuous struggle to get his hands on diplomatic credentials. The comically corrupt Central African Republic depicted seems a world away from the country of his new passport.  What’s more, a free press has lampooned senior Liberian politicians for their involvement in the farce. For Liberia, this is not a disaster, it’s progress.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2012/08/liberia

Aug 27 2012
Image

Angola deports Chinese gang members

Angola extradited 37 Chinese nationals, accused of extortion, kidnappings, armed robberies and running prostitution rings.

Chinese police on Saturday brought back the 37 suspected gangsters from Angola (South Africa), where they were arrested for alleged crimes against other Chinese nationals.

Chinese police escort allege gang members

Such crimes are a major concern for China, which has become Africa’s main trading partner and a major source of infrastructure investment. As a result, many Chinese work in Africa, and their presence has brought problems such as crime among Chinese, especially in politically volatile countries that provide fertile ground for criminals.

It is a sign that Chinese businesses continue to be troubled by the country’s stubborn gang culture as they expand overseas.

The Ministry of Public Security said the Chinese government sent a special police force to Angola in July which worked with local police to break up 12 Chinese gangs, resolve 48 criminal cases and rescue 14 Chinese victims, most of whom had been forced into prostitution. At home, domestic police arrested 24 other people suspected of being involved in the cases, the ministry said.

Following a request from Chinese authorities, the 37 men and women were extradited on Saturday to China, where they face trial on charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and extortion. They arrived in Beijing on a chartered plane, the ministry said.

Such crimes hurt Chinese businesses overseas and tarnish the country’s image. As a rising world power, China also wants to be seen as being capable of protecting its citizens abroad and punishing those who commit violent crimes overseas. Mineral-rich Angola is China’s biggest trading partner in Africa, with some $24.8bn (£15.7bn) in 2010. 

Commercial opportunities have attracted private businesses and state-run firms. According to Chinese media, crime had begun to seriously affect operations in the country.

The BBC quotes ‘China Police’, a website run by the ministry, which published an article documenting 14 kidnappings during 2011 in which five victims were killed.

The article said Chinese business owners had moved away from the capital Luanda, while others had hired private security guards and bought bullet-proof cars.