Are We Headed Toward Another Food Crisis?

Two years ago African countries erupted into massive protests following dramatic increases in the price of food. Now, economists are predicting that financial speculation is on the verge of causing yet another episode of food price inflation. Are governments prepared to respond to the potential social crisis? If they aren't are existing social and political forces prepared to hold them accountable?

In Africa, the Hypocrisy of the Obama Administration is Inexcusable

The United States fears Africa is becoming a place of increasing competition from China mostly, but also Brazil, Russia, and the European Union. African countries like Angola or Zimbabwe who were once forced to depend on the patronage of the IMF and World Bank are less dependent on America's hegemonic financial institutions than anytime in the last 20 years. The growing complexity of actors has opened the possibility of greater independence in national economic and social policy-making in African countries from the dictates of Washington D.C. With the threat of increased competition and the level of oil imports from Africa going up as much 20 percent, the U.S. is engaging in its most extensive imperial quests in Africa since the end of the Cold War.Ironically, this assault is advancing under the leadership of one of Africa's own "sons", U.S. President Barack Obama.

Hiding behind the rhetoric of limited government and individual liberties, the United States is protecting some of the most repressive regimes in the world. The Obama administration is intensifying President Bush's plan to militarily support anti-democratic regimes throughout the continent. These regimes are responsible for grave human rights violations and widespread persecution of political and national minorities according to prominent Western human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

The ridiculous level of hypocrisy in U.S. foreign policy proves that the Obama administration is concerned neither with human rights or participatory democracy but stability against any actor that could potentially threaten their perceived political and economic interests. Eritrea, a small East African nation that shares a contentious border with Ethiopia, has refused to support a U.S. war in the Horn of Africa and reportedly rejected a demand from the U.S. military to host a U.S. base in the Red Sea port of Assab off its coast. Eritrea's intransigence earned it a spot on the U.S. terrorist list. The Obama administration froze existing ties with Eritrea and claimed that the "government acted as a principal source and conduit for arms to antigovernment, extremist, and insurgent groups in Somalia." The Eritrean government vehemently denies supporting such groups. Meanwhile, the same Obama administration has increased military funding by more than 300 per cent for African countries that support its foreign policy aims including Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Ethiopia, Equitorial Guinea, Algeria and Nigeria. Each of these governments are infamously known for exceptional corruption and state repression against political opponents.

The hypocrisy of the Obama administration does not end with military intervention. The administration has also teamed up with billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates to extend U.S. influence and guarantee multinational corporate access to African agricultural markets. Their strategy is to maintain leverage in African affairs by creating new systems of aid dependency for U.S. technical and financial support in the area of food production. In this way the administration approaches aid as an issue of national security. The interests of the U.S. military, multinational corporations and aid NGO's intersect as the three groups meet to share talking points and communication strategies. Their latest gimmick is $408 million for a World Bank fund to encourage "good" farming practices in the developing world. However, as Mukoma Wa Ngugi of Pambazuka news points out, the reason why so many African's go hungry in a global economy of abundance is not for a lack of "free" markets or U.S. aid but the existing neo-colonial models of political economy in African countries that maintain unequal social relations.

"Hunger in Africa is mostly a political and economic disparity problem. To end hunger, political stability, proper distribution of food and land within nations, and less emphasis on cash-crop farming and more on food- crop farming will be more effective, friendlier to the environment and less costly than the super-seeds that will require tons of pesticides - and eventually, cost a lot of money."

With Barack Obama as the chief spokesman, the U.S. government is in the midst of a major public relations campaign to re-brand themselves as a partner of African countries rather than an imperial power. This shift is mostly in response to the failures of the World Bank and IMF's unpopular structural adjustment programs that imposed ruthless neo-liberal conditions on the re-payment of loans and led to a backlash in the form of renewed calls for national sovereignty. However, this new American re-branding effort should not be confused with a genuine attempt to re-start U.S.-Africa relations on equal terms. The conditions of U.S. bilateral partnership in the form of technical and financial assistance are not limited to specific development projects but amount to a sophisticated form of blackmail with the U.S. interfering in the way government's run their internal politics and manage their economies.

The most notorious example of this form of blackmail is no where more obvious than through a bilateral development fund known as the Millennium Challenge Account. The completely biased conditions for financial support from the account include "economic freedom" and "civil liberties" as defined by far right-wing think tanks like the U.S. Heritage Foundation. Smaller, cash-strapped African countries like Senegal, are particularly vulnerable to this scheme being forced to 'behave' in a manner that is acceptable to conservatives in the U.S. in exchange for aid.

In the final analysis, U.S. strategists fear that the further waning of their exclusive post-Cold War influence will impinge on long-term economic and political "interests" in Africa, which include unlimited access to natural resources and markets for U.S. goods. Therefore, the Obama administration is determined to put more financial resources into promoting a balance of power more favorable to its interests with proxy military initiatives and Trojan Horse development aid designed to promote dependency on the U.S. At the same time, the administration is deceptively using the rhetoric of partnership and mutuality to provide cover for African elites allied with the interests of the U.S. military, foreign investors and multinational corporations. There is no amount of Kenyan heritage that should absolve Barack Obama and his administration of responsibility for intensifying the scourge of U.S. imperialism in Africa. For a man who is quick to preach personal responsibility in front of large audiences of black Americans and continental Africans, Obama should hold himself accountable for the actions of his administration under his watch.

Combating Africa's Anti-Gay 'Movement'

There is a widespread but unsubstantiated paranoia that the West is trying to spread homosexuality here in Africa. In the African political culture of the 21st century the enemy of African self-determination is not the mindless consumerism, exploitation of natural resources or military intrusion but 'the gays'. Ironically, homophobia is about the closest thing to an anti-imperialist movement in existence here today. This is the sick reality in a continent that has long-buried the progressive memories of Kwame Nkrumah, Samora Machel and Thomas Sankara.

Senegal is one of at least 38 African countries, which sentences homosexuals and their heterosexual allies to long-term prison sentences. The most infamous case has come as the Ugandan legislature moved to pass a strict bill that would detain and execute homosexual violators. There are several reasons to oppose this bill in particular for the social justice movement. For starters this legislation would be a huge setback for the fight against HIV and AIDS in Uganda; a country that has shown significant progress in fighting the disease in recent years. The stigma, criminalization and discrimination of men who have sex with men is likely to deter them from pursuing HIV prevention and treatment services from the government. This would no doubt be of minor consequence to an evangelical Christian, as many have come to Africa preaching Jesus' salvation as the cure for AIDS.

The Ugandan anti-gay legislation is yet another example of the impact ultra-conservative Christian missionaries have in Africa. The New York Times reported how in the lead up to the legislation, thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians, listened raptly to the Americans, who were presented as experts on homosexuality. Furthermore, although the Ugandan legislation has been the subject of bi-partisan rebuke in the U.S., there is a prominent right-wing movement there that uses similar hate-filled rhetoric freely on cable television and the pulpit with little criticism.

Of course, Western Christians are not the only source of homophobia in the continent. My predominantly Muslim 11th grade American Government class recently remarked to me their fears of a vast American conspiracy to spread homosexuality throughout Africa. To resolve the problem, half of the students recommended the punishment of death by a show of hands. A few discussed in great detail how to carry such executions out and quoted specific passages from the Islamic Hadith to justify the actions.

Homophobia is only one of several fruits born from the destruction of the African left. Throughout the continent there is routine violence against poor immigrants coming from neighboring countries. South Africa is one of the most extreme examples of reactionary violence toward other Africans who share virtually the same histories, and class struggles against neo-liberal globalization. Today, as Africa fights poverty, disease and external exploitation it must also face a growing and usually unchallenged right-wing political culture that pervades much of the continent's government's and civil society. When caught between the choice of cultural relativism and social justice, we should always choose the latter.

Dark Days in Nigeria

In the midst of manufactured paranoia, lies and deceit about 'extremism' in West Africa, finally a voice of reason.

"As a result of a failed terrorism attempt on Christmas Day, the main topic
in the media has been Al Qaeda, Yemen, airport security, and one Nigerian
terrorist recruit. When this issue simmers down, will the wider travails and
prospects of Nigeria be confronted....Awaiting liberation, however, are 140
million non-jihadist Nigerians denied democratic and developmental governance
for a half-century. Will the country’s power-brokers now listen, and act?"

Richard Joseph of the Brookings Institute writes a timely reflection on Confronting the Greater Nigerian Challenge, and places the focus on the root of the country's current turmoil---poor governance. Too much of the existing commentary on Nigeria centers on ethnic division, religion, and geography but not enough on politics and power relations. Western liberal democracy has been restored in Nigeria after decades of military rule but its neo-colonial economic design and authoritarian impulses have not empowered traditionally marginalized groups in society.

The Nigerian legislature and executive branches are subject to manipulation by elites and there are very few avenues for popular participation within official institutions of political power. This situation forces workers, peasants, and religious organizations to find ways of participating outside the systems of power where the most important policy decisions are made. Nigeria is a text-book banana republic where personal goals and interests of foreign or national elites eclipse the human development needs of the average person.

In his article Richard Joseph argues that Nigeria has recently become a failed state defined as, "a dysfunctional state which also has multiple competing political factions in conflict within its borders or has no functioning governance above." The bottom-line is that Nigeria, like most other African countries, has always been a failed state since European colonialists carved it into an exploitative depot and instrument of elite interests. Normative political independence did nothing to alter this fundamental colonial structure.

Nigeria's conservative president Umaru Yar'Adua, being accountable to the country's former British colonizer, gave an exclusive interview to the BBC stating his intention to return to power after weeks abroad in a Saudi Arabian hospital. At home, Nigerian social movements and trade unions are mobilizing to have him removed from power. Nigeria is on the edge of political chaos, but perhaps when the dust settles the country will finally move toward participatory democracy. And "as Nigeria goes, so goes the rest of sub-Saharan Africa."

Anti-Islamist Propaganda in Africa Fulfilling Itself

23 year old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to carry out a Christmas Day terrorist bombing on a Northwest Airlines flight flying into Detroit. Media reports are prematurely drawing connections between Abdulmutallab who was Nigerian and an alleged al-Qaeda conspiracy to spread its operations into West Africa and the Sahara.

In the recent past, there have been other high profile stories related to terrorism that have been either exaggerated or fabricated to justify the surge in US-backed military operations in Saharan Africa. One of which was in 2002 when Algerian intelligence forces kidnapped Western tourists only to blame the abductions on so called 'jihadists' to justify their pandering to the U.S. for weapons and financial resources. And then of course there is the historic U.S. interference in Somalia that helped produce militant Islamism by arming warlords, backing a murderous Ethiopian invasion of the country in 2006 and splintering moderate factions of the Union of Islamic Courts. Recently, as indicated in a video by Al Jazeera, an offshoot of al-Qaeda has also emerged in the deserts of North Africa, claiming a 'Sahara Emirate', in part because of hostile actions taken by the Mauritanian government against Islamic opposition parties.

In the Sahara-Sahelian regions of Africa, Islam is mostly inclusive and pacifist characterizing jihad as a spiritual rather than military enterprise. To the outsider looking in via mass media, increased U.S. counter-terrorism operations in Africa could appear as natural responses to a sudden extremist threat but nothing could be further from the truth. The Islamic resistance in Africa being characterized as terrorism or "jihadism" is a new expression of anti-imperialism as well as a decade’s old opposition to political centralization and a perpetual lack of human development. What in previous decades was clothed in the rhetoric of Marxism-Leninism or Arab nationalism is today phrased under the loosely organized ideology of political Islam--- a political philosophy that a society governed under Islamic Sharia law will be more just than the status-quo.

So where is the sudden upsurge in militant political Islam coming from? Like their counter-parts in East Africa, North and West Africa have also been participating in joint counter-terrorism operations led by the U.S. and NATO through AFRICOM. For several years now Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and others have participated in U.S.-led military exercises known as Flintlock. Flintlock exercises usually involve a hypothetical non-state threat to which governments are trained to respond immediately across borders and a lot destructive new goodies from the American military. The U.S. and its European allies have also been working with two dozen African governments to "overcome the tyranny of distance imposed by their massive continent through an exercise designed to increase command, control, communications and computer capacity" in Gabon. The partnerships between these governments and the U.S. military are kept secret from the public and for good reason. Imperial domination by the U.S. military, perceived or real, in Africa would be extremely unpopular and complicate their efforts to cling to political power.

Several of the most corrupt governments in Africa are using the cover of the "war on terror" to justify the continuity of clientelism, neglect of socio-economic rights and centralization of power under the protection of the U.S. African Military Command. Billions of dollars in U.S. tax-payer money for new weapons systems, development aid and financial assistance are sure-fire methods to consolidate political authority in a region where political opposition movements are fragmented and struggle without financial resources. The actions of African governments to marginalize not only political Islam but all political opposition, will inevitably fuel violent expressions in the future.

Make no mistake about it, violent expressions of political Islam won’t loosen these inept government’s grip on political power or respond to the fundamental social, economic and environmental needs of African people.

Egyptian economist and activist Samir Amin has accurately described both the lack of coherence and strategy among political Islamists responding to U.S. intervention,

"The exclusive emphasis on culture allows political Islam to
eliminate from every sphere of life the real social confrontations between the
popular classes and the globalized capitalist system that oppresses and exploits
them. The militants of political Islam have no real presence in the areas where
actual social conflicts take place and their leaders repeat incessantly that
such conflictsare unimportant. Islamists are only present in these areas to open
schools and health clinics. But these are nothing but works of charity and means
for indoctrination. They are not means of support for the struggles of the
popular classes against the system responsible for their poverty."

Nevertheless, as the U.S. continues its covert militarization of Africa through alliances with otherwise contemptible political regimes, violent political Islam may be the only opposition group which can effectively organize moral and financial support against the status-quo. By making ties with foreign Islamist organizations like al-Qaeda, these groups can tap into the material resources necessary to wage a sustained insurgency. This is a tragic moment of self-fulfilled prophecy the poorest continent in the world can do without.

European Power, African Sunlight

Previously, I blogged about a 400 billion Euro plan to power Europe with sunlight from the Sahara desert. Desertec, as the $573 billion initiative is called, would be the world's most committed solar power project to date. The lingering question is to what, if any benefit will such a project be for north African nations who themselves face widespread energy shortages and routine blackouts? Not to mention the long history of colonialism/ neo-colonialism that has taken place via the exploitation of Africa's natural resources. Will the sun be any different?

Nevertheless, European investors are looking to capitalize on Africa's most abundant resource. Cash-strapped north African governments are unlikely to challenge what could turn out to be another economic opportunity and revenue source. Below is a short video from a Dutch news station describing the German lead project, the technologies and scientific processes that will be used to harness the power of the African sun.

What A Malaria Mosquitoe Wants

Malaria continues to be Africa's number 1 killer and one of the main reasons why mortality rates continue to be so high in West Africa. There are extensive efforts by scientists, governments, and activists to eliminate the threat of Malaria, if not prevent the high cases of fatality throughout Africa. But one of the most cost effective and potent ways of fighting Malaria and the mosquitoes that carry the disease continues to be education.

The following funny video is one of several featured on the malariacampaign.ca--- a campaign designed to creatively inform the public on simple facts regarding the disease and ways to prevent its spread. At the end of their latest short cartoon the narrator reminds us to "be careful in the dark. Malaria carrying Mosquitoes only bite at night."

The Aid VS Trade Debate Rages On

The debate rages on in the development community between "aid versus trade" strategies for African development. Rest assured, there are absolutely no holds barred here.

In an article clearly aimed at pro-trade advocates like Dambisa Moyo, John McArthur of Millennium Promise argues that Africa has actually made considerable progress in both economic and social development contrary to the opinion that there has been a long-term decline in these areas due to Western aid. "Debunking the Claims of African Regress", lists a few examples of where Africa, compared to South Asia, has reduced extreme poverty, expanded AIDs treatement, and decreased mortality rates.

"These are just a few of the success stories arising from strong local leadership and supportive international partnership. These successes can be replicated and expanded, which is why it is so important to debunk the claims of African regress and to understand how misguided it is when people call for the international community to disengage from supporting Africa."

Ouch! McArthur's article is most certainly entertaining and it does rightly identify some successes in African development. However, it ignores a whole host of failures in the recent past that Moyo and others allege are a result of aid dependency. I personally, would spend a good amount of my summer intern stipend for a ticket to see a debate between Dambiasa Moyo and John McArthur.

Europe Sets Its Sights on African Solar Energy

Africa is a continent rich in natural resources that have the potential to enhance human development for the very poorest of communities. No resource is more abundant than sunlight. The world's largest solar project is planned in the Sahara Desert by a host of European companies that hope to tap into the African sun to meet European energy needs.

"If just 0.3% of the Saharan Desert was used for a concentrating solar plant, it would produce enough power to provide all of Europe with clean renewable energy. That is why 20 blue chip German companies are gathering together next month to discuss plans and investments to create such a massive project. Both the meeting and project are being promoted by the Desertec Foundation, which is proposing to erect 100 GW of concentrating solar power plants throughout Northern Africa."

The ambitious project would also create desalinization plants to draw freshwater from the ocean to meet local agricultural needs. There are plenty of good reasons to be excited for inspired attempts to create "an oasis in the desert" anywhere, but especially in Africa. Hopefully though, the fruits of scientific innovation harnessing the sun's power will ultimately be used to help meet developmental needs in the continent. In recent history, European powers have unfortunately been the primary beneficiary of Africa's resource rich geography. Will solar power be any different?

Climate Change May Starve Africa to Death

Let us all demand that Europe and America finally commit themselves to giving financial assistance to African countries, who are baring the brunt of richer country's carbon emissions. A pretty grim article today in IRIN, warns that climate change might literally wipe out many of Africa's staple food sources in the next 10 years.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international scientific body, has predicted that food production in Africa could halve by 2020 as global warming pushes temperatures up and droughts become more intense.

The article details the increasing likelihood that African farmers will find themselves unable to produce traditional food staples like maize. Unless significant action is taken by African governments to develop climate change resistant crop varieties, the continent could face its worst battle with food insecurity in recent memory. Western governments should save the lectures about the onslaught of global climate change and put the money where their mouths are.

African Development Requires Active Government

The World Economic Forum on Africa is a gathering of political and business leaders to discuss global economic competitiveness. With good intentions, speakers like former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and Mozambican first lady Graca Machel are waging consistent efforts to lull foreign venture capitalists to invest in areas such as transport, communications, and agriculture. Their message is crystal clear. While Africa has it's share of bad news, there are positive developments that warrant a safer return on investment and hold the promise of a brighter future for the poor. But is that enough?

Market reforms and democratic governance are two necessary but insufficient pieces of the African development puzzle. Ultimately, governments in Africa must create effective state government structures which can promote socio-economic development. The weaknesses and vulnerabilities of African governments to formulate economic policies and programs that can reverse the deepening poverty trend in the continent are troubling. What Africa desperately needs today is a progressive discussion about the future of economic policy in the region. So far there has been little consensus in continent to ensure that political institutions are empowered to protect the public against market failures like wild fluctuations in the price of food or fuel, and provide essential needs like health care, housing, and jobs.

It would be great to see the World Economic Forum move the discourse from rhetoric about "good" governance to a more focused discussion on effective governance.

A Day Worth Remembering: The Spanish Inquisition and the Moors

Four hundred years ago today, King Philip III signed an order to expel 300,000 Moors who had converted from Islam to Christianity. The purge happened during the height of the Spanish Inquisition, an ecclesiastical court established to direct attacks against converts from Judaism and Islam. They also tried to wipe out any existing memory of Moorish rule in literature, and architecture.

North African Moors conquered Spain in the 8th century. The Muslim's armies were only expelled around 800 years later. The victory of the Catholic monarchs King Ferdinand of Casstile and Queen Isabella of Aragon likely changed the course of world history and ushered in the consolidation of western dominance and discovery of the "New World". Many Spanish Muslims today argue that the government should apologize for the wrongs committed during the ethnic cleansing campaign 400 years ago.

Unfortunately, the significance of today may be lost on many, but certainly not on those of us who understand how historical events in Spain centuries ago have literally shaped the way we exist today.

Below, is a video illustrating the rise and fall of Islam in Spain.

Somali Pirates Strike Again

"Because I do it with one small ship, I am called a terrorist. You do it with a whole fleet and are called an emperor."
~A pirate, from St. Augustine's "City of God"

Everybody loves to root for the underdog---well, almost everybody. Today, the New York Times reported that Somali pirates commandeered a United States-flagged container ship with 20 American crew members off the coast of Somalia. The ship owners say the containers were carrying aid supplies to Kenya.

Today's takeover was the sixth commercial ship commandeered by pirates this week off the Horn of Africa. The failed attempts of technologically advanced foreign naval warships to destroy the pirates only deepen the mythology.

Somalia pirates are not altogether much different than other Somali people grappling with chronic poverty and violent conflict. The infamous pirates are comprised of bunch of 20-30 years olds looking for adventure, money, and goods they can bring back home.

Residents told the BBC, Somali pirates are received as rock stars back home.

"They wed the most beautiful girls; they are building big houses; they have new cars; new guns"

Sounds like something out of a rap song. Wait a minute...



In the final analysis, Somalia's pirates represent a resistance to foreign domination and will continue to gain widespread support among the people of Somalia and elsewhere.

Everybody LOVES Bush in Africa. Right?

If you have watched any of the major news networks in the United States or Great Britain lately you have probably witnessed President Bush's messianic descent on his adoring disciples in "Africa" (Tanzania) every half hour. Forgive me for being frank but isn't George Bush the most unpopular man on the face of the earth? Besides his abysmal approval rating at home it seems like every where he goes, (Australia, Colombia, Malaysia) throngs of protesters come to greet him with Molotov cocktails and the nearest rock or glass bottle. But what in the hell is going on in Africa? According to the press this is Bush's last horray, returning to a continent where he is widely popular and reaping the benefits of his "compassionate" foreign policy. ABC reports "They love George W. Bush in Tanzania. Everywhere he goes thousands of people line the streets and cheer."

I guess they forgot to mention the thousands of Muslims who marched through Tanzania's capital Friday burning U.S. flags and calling for an immediate end to the occupations of both Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe they were out to lunch when a host of Tanzanian social activists and intellectuals held a rally in opposition to the new U.S. Africa Military Command and unfair trade policies aimed at destroying Tanzania's agriculture sector. It is no secret that during his tour President Bush has skipped conflict areas even in East Africa including Kenya ripped apart by ethnic violence, and the Sudan. Whats surprising is the cuddly relationship between the dominant media and the Bush Administration who have without blinking considered President Bush a success in "Africa" despite widespread evidence to the contrary.

Put the fact the U.S. expects one-quarter of its oil imports will come from Africa by 2015 aside. Pretend that President Bush and the Pentagon didn't invade Somalia a year ago, remove the government and militarily back an Ethiopian onslaught Human Rights Watch says resembles a "systematic extermination". Lets face it, the Bush Administration has given aid to a handful of countries who adopt favorable economic trade arrangements to U.S. interests, and allow the U.S. military to nestle in. Yet, the media continue to claim Bush's victory in "Africa" as if it were a small country. Could you imagine Bush making a deal with China and the media reporting his victory in Asia?

Only a racist and paternalistic news media like ours could ignore resistance and portray President Bush's visit as the return of Christ to save the savages from themselves. Why do we watch this stuff? Television...The only thing left to decide is when will we turn the damn thing off.