Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Africa, courtesy of AfricaPundit.
TOP TOPICS
- South Africa held national elections this month, returning the ANC to power with a healthy majority.
- Algeria also held national elections this month, also re-electing the incumbent by a wide margin. As in South Africa, the elections were judged "free and fair" by international observers, but as reported by Mostly Africa, a bunch of people are still unhappy.
- Zimbabwean Independence Day, marking the 24th anniversary of the end of Ian Smith’s white-ruled Rhodesian government, was celebrated in London by protests against Comrade Mugabe’s misrule. In Zimbabwe, as Cathy Buckle reports, celebrations largely consisted of trotting out the same old stale propaganda.
Other Topics Today Include: South African elections reaction; Rwanda remembered; War on Terror update; Libya liberalizing (?); the continuing DDT debate; the final resting place of used clothing.
South African elections
- Winds of Change notes some of the election-day expectations and issues.
- Head Heeb has the play-by-play.
- Southern Cross analyzes the results.
- Politics.za also has complete coverage.
- Meanwhile, Abiola laments the lack of a credible opposition party.
Rwanda
Several bloggers noted the 10 year anniversary of the Rwandan genocide during which nearly a million Rwandans were slaughtered.
- Head Heeb meditates on the effects of genocide.
- Winds of Change especially notes the role of the French.
- And of course, as Rich Lowry recounts, the US didn’t do much to stop the genocide either.
- Abiola notes that it’s not necessarily a simple case of victim and victimized.
- Black Star Journal contrasts myth and reality in Rwanda.
War on Terror
- Dan Darling discusses al Qaeda’s African connections in Algeria and beyond.
- But Calixte seems to think that the al Qaeda threat is mostly hype.
- At least some of the attacks against foreign aid workers in Somaliland are now believed to be linked to al Qaeda.
- A radical Muslim “cleric” has been arrested in Zanzibar in connection with a series of bombings last month apparently intended to disrupt the visit of German president Rau.
Libya
- Claudia Rosett reminds us that even in a disarmed Libya, the Libyan people are still not safe from their own government.
- On the other hand, Qaddafi’s son is now saying that democracy is good.
- A victory for the Bush doctrine? Too early to tell, but I’m curious to see if this pans out.
DDT
- As noted last time, the eco-imperialists’ resistance to the use of DDT is at least partly to blame for the deaths of more than a million Africans each year. Some people are wondering why…
- Abiola thinks that an anti-DDT policy that doesn’t address the problem of malaria prevention is pretty pathetic.
- Virginia Postrel is rightly outraged.
- And Roger Bate at TCS discusses how things got to this point. (Via Instapundit.)
Finally
Ever wonder what happens to all of that used clothing--like all the stuff that doesn't ever get sold at Goodwill? Well, as Ethan Zuckerman discusses, a lot of it ends up in Africa. He seems to think this is a bad thing, but Kenyan Pundit disagrees.
I report, you decide.
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