175 Articles

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Congo's Kabila Wants Peace Without Justice; Rebel Generals Join Forces
(3 comments) Ugandan General Gadi Ngabo is ready to move against Kinshasa. A reliable UN source today said, "General Gadi claims to control 10,000 troops in Petit-Nord. Neither Bosco Ntaganda's forces (FARDC) will stop nor will they fight against Gad's men, Bosco confirmed." The source added, "Only a go-ahead is being awaited to jointly fight Kabila's government."

Sunday, January 31, 2010
"Bhutto:The Film" Offers Heartbreaking and Thought-Provoking History Lesson
(3 comments) Bhutto: The Film was one of sixteen documentaries selected for judging at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Entertaining, compelling and heartbreaking, Bhutto did not "win" at Sundance, but in this case winning is certainly not everything.

Saturday, January 23, 2010
Academia vs. Reality: Data Bomb Crushes Mortality Numbers in Congo
(3 comments) In a phone conversation today, the Human Security Report editor, Dr. Andrew Mack, categorically denied that he stands behind a media-attributed death toll number of 900,000, which is far below accepted estimates of 3 to 7.5 million souls lost. "What we are really saying in our methodology argument is that no one knows the correct figure," Mack said.

Thursday, January 21, 2010
Florida Cold Weather Update: 53,000 Fish Lost But Turtles Rescued
(1 comments) Sanibel Island's Gulf waters have rebounded from a chilly 47 degrees recorded during last week's unprecedented cold snap that decimated fish populations and threatened to do the same to endangered species of sea turtles in Florida. The Sanibel-Captiva Marine Laboratory River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) recorded water temperature measurements ranging from 59 to 63 degrees Fahrenheit on January 20.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Frigid Florida Waters Decimating Fish and Turtles
The extreme cold that has most of the nation in the deep freeze has filtered down into the Sunshine State where unusually cold water temperatures are injuring and killing thousands of animals statewide, including at least 2,000 sea turtles and uncounted fish.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Congo Volcano Still Active: Lava Flow Approaches Goma/Bukavu Road
The National Institute for the Conservation of Nature though stated today that it was concerned about the threat posed by this eruption on the Virunga National Park ecosystems and wildlife, including the

Saturday, January 2, 2010
Congo Volcano Erupts: Lava Flows Southwest Toward Settlements
(1 comments) Eastern Congo awoke in the early hours between Friday and Saturday there to the eruption of Mount Nyamulagira, located 16 miles from the provincial capitol of Goma. Lava is flowing into the World Heritage Virunga Park, burning the forest, and threatening endangered chimpanzees at the Tongo Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Fortunately the 200 or so mountain gorillas are not near the lava flows at this time.

Sunday, December 27, 2009
Save Congo: Send Hillary Clinton AVATAR
(5 comments) So, what would happen if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made good on her expressions of solidarity with the Congolese, and actually used her power to do something?

Monday, December 14, 2009
HRW Report on Congo: Fetuses Ripped From Wombs and Children Burned Alive
(4 comments) HRW released this report today. My lede should read: "News that will break your heart." The Congolese have experienced this since colonial days when Leopold's soldiers exacted a severed hand for each bullet spent.

Sunday, December 13, 2009
A True Tale of How Angels Came to Congo This Christmas Season
(5 comments) I am not sure this piece belongs here..but we all need some angels in our lives and I have come to believe that they really exist! Readers be the judge.

Saturday, November 28, 2009
UN Report on Congo: A Boeing 727 From Florida, US Stonewalling, and Gold for Dubai
(9 comments) You gotta read the full report to believe it...Arms shipments or suspected shipments to the DRC from Spain, North Korea, Ukraine, Iran, Libya, China, Belgium, Tanzania, the British Virgin Islands and others; US stonewalling on bank and phone records and 727 purchase from Florida.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
International Court Acquits Suspect in Murder of Dian Fossey
The International Crimes Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) announced it has overturned a 20-year sentence and acquitted Protais Zigiranyirazo, accused genocidaire and suspected murderer of American primatologist Dian Fossey. Citing "serious errors" during the 2008 trial, ICTR Chamber Judge Theodore Meron ordered the immediate release of Zigiranyirazo, known as Mr. Z.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Ashley Judd: Please, Population Control is Not the Answer for Congo
(5 comments) Ashley Judd's op-ed in USATODAY drove me to the Tao Te Ching before my head exploded. In another example of celebrity naiveté falling prey to the obfuscations of non-governmental organizations in Congo.

Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Campaign: The Audacity of Hope Did Not Die in Maine
The Campaign tells the story of a lost battle, inspiring hope through the passionate work of those committed to re-energizing the fight for gay rights. Christie Herring captures the essence of this emotional journey.

Saturday, October 24, 2009
If It's Art, Must It Be Pornography?
(7 comments) Men, leave the Vagina Monologues to Eve Ensler. Reviewers, don't mask porn as art. It's dangerous for women and children.

Monday, October 5, 2009
Argentina's Mercedes Sosa: "She Died a Free Woman."
Argentina's "voice for the voiceless ones" passed away on Sunday, and the country's National Congress declared three days of mourning with flags to be flown at half mast on public buildings. This is the power of music. This is the power of true "folk singing." Mercedes Sosa was the most loved Latin-American singer of her generation.

Monday, September 28, 2009
Did Saint Dian Fossey Predict Genocide?
I can't wait to read Margaret Atwood's new book, The Year of the Flood. My motives are somewhat narcissistic. Over the weekend I noticed a huge spike in hits on my mostly dormant web page. At the same time, a forgotten article written two years ago about Dian Fossey and a spate of gorilla killings in Congo was enjoying resurgence over at OEN News.

Saturday, September 26, 2009
Delta Music Provides Heartbeat for G-20 Heinz-Kerry Reception
(2 comments) Quint Davis produced the presentation of Louisiana's bayou musical heritage, featuring the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Allen Toussaint, Trombone Shorty, and Cajun bluesman Tab Benoit. Policy was eschewed in favor of fun while Savoy-Doucet and Benoit took their turns on the tiny stage in the main reception area, and Toussaint and Trombone Shorty played the more formal main stage. But the Cajun bayou ruled the younger crowd.

Friday, September 25, 2009
Day One G-20: Point of View is Everything
(1 comments) There were so many journalists, that I decided to become a “lost tourist” at the checkpoints. I could have been a terrorist with my stuffed backpack. I even tested a few checkpoints by driving my car “accidentally” into restricted space to see what would happen. The point is that nothing happened.

Monday, August 10, 2009
Will Hillary Face Down Congo's Kabila? Or Will He "Crush" Her Also?
Kabila's army is committing a majority of the atrocities, and Hillary is going to be face to face with the man behind the curtain. Her husband's inattention in Rwanda in 1994 contributed to the murder of one million. This will be the test as to whether the United States can really exert influence in central Africa. Can Clinton offer a moral compass in this humanitarian tragedy, or will we once again turn our back on humani

Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Dear Secretary Clinton: Could You Please Find Out if This Congolese Child Is Still Alive?
(5 comments) Women, constant targets of sexual violence, are eager to step forward with their stories and offer witness. We recorded this at the camp. It is the same everywhere, really, and one story echoes 10,000 stories. How many times do we really need to listen to the stories before we do something about it?

Sunday, June 21, 2009
Ticketmaster/Echomusic Abandons Artist's Websites
Fans of up to 200 mid-level artists and lower tier musicians hosted by Nashville's Echomusic who went to check out touring schedules on their websites in the last few days may have found a darkened site or just a note that the site was under reconstruction.

Thursday, May 7, 2009
Spin or Advice in NOLA? USACE Pays Huge Price in New Orleans
There is a big difference between spin and conspiracy. Spin is happening in New Orleans, that if not toned down, begins to look and feel like conspiracy. New Orleans needs a break.

Thursday, April 23, 2009
Mary Chapin Carpenter Returns to the Stage to Honor Eudora Welty
(2 comments) Mary Chapin Carpenter returns to the stage after two years and discusses art, music, friends and storytelling in honor of Eudora Welty

Thursday, April 9, 2009
DRC: Nkunda Languishes While Rwandan Rebels and Regular Congolese Army Rape and Maim
(2 comments) 250,000 people who were living in their homes before the arrest of Nkunda are now displaced, rape and murder is on the rise, Nkunda, a man with no warrants against him, languishes in detention in a corrupt Rwandan court system, Kabila rules Congo in spite of extreme human rights violations, and a man wanted by the Hague, Bosco Ntaganda is in charge of troops in eastern Congo.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Elephants and Ivory: A Tale of Human Greed Exposed
(4 comments) John Frederick Walker functions as a "memorist," with his soul rooted in centuries past, as he begins his tour de force examination of the history of ivory, humankind's lust for this exquisite treasure, and the demise of the elephant and human decency in the process of this unholy quest.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Monkey's Pawn: Monkey Misery Outshines Human Misery in Louisiana's Delta
(1 comments) The fate of monkeys and apes at the New Iberia Research Center has preempted stories of human misery in rural Louisiana's rural back country

Friday, February 27, 2009
Louisiana's Landrieu Calls for Resignation of FEMA Chief of Staff
Now, the ghosts of hurricanes past and the specters of hurricanes future are blowing through New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta as hearings and investigations reveal massive foul-ups in the FEMA offices in New Orleans

Monday, February 16, 2009
Open Letter to Time Magazine on Ben Affleck and Congo
The first thing that assaults credibility is the description of the landscape as a "bucolic jungle." Eastern Congo is not a "jungle," it is forested in some areas, and it is certainly not "bucolic."

Friday, February 13, 2009
Alison Des Forges, Leading Rwanda Expert Killed in Plane Crash
(3 comments) Dr. Alison Des Forges, was killed in the crash of Flight 3407 from New York to Buffalo on February 12, 2009. Des Forges, senior adviser to Human Rights Watch's Africa division for almost two decades, dedicated her life to working on Rwanda and was the world's leading expert on the 1994 Rwanda genocide and its aftermath.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Louisiana's Landrieu to Bush: Your veto threat cut $157.5 million for six New Orleans area hospitals
(7 comments) Landrieu: His [Bush's] attention to the continuing emergency and remaining recovery needs along the Gulf Coast is sorely needed, but it is the quality of the visits, not the quantity, that matters most.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Mr. Bill: "OH NO, Fix the coast you broke, Shell Oil!"
An ominous email came in to the sluggo.com listserv, and writers for independent media knew it could only mean one thing. Mr. Bill was ramping up for another confrontation with the "bad guys" at Shell Oil in New Orleans. Mr. Bill and his entourage, which included bodyguards and super models, promised an appearance on the steps of One Shell Square, at 701 Poydras today, August 19.

Thursday, August 14, 2008
New Orleans Musicians Take Wetlands Message to DNC and RNC
(5 comments) Tab Benoit and the Voice of the Wetlands All Stars have accomplished something that is quite remarkable. They will open the Democratic Convention in Denver and continue with a string of non-partisan fund- raisers road show that will end on September 1st in Minneapolis for an invitation only, non-partisan Republican Convention after party.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Former MN Senator Becky Lourey: Why Not Let Moral Principles Guide Governance?
(9 comments) Former Minnesota state Senator Becky Lourey offers a moral compass. A "lost speech" provides direction in an era of media distractions.

Thursday, August 7, 2008
New Orleans Musicians Unite: Obama and McCain Flee from YouTube; Landrieu Goes to the Mat
(4 comments) In a stunning lack of sensitivity to the biggest natural disaster this country has faced in recent memory, neither Senator Barack Obama nor Senator John McCain have committed to a debate in New Orleans about Louisiana coastal wetlands restoration and hurricane recovery.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Witness to Rape in Congo: "What is the future when the heart of the community is broken?"
(7 comments) The BBC reports that militias are rearming in Eastern Congo in defiance of a peace accord signed in January. The humanitarian crisis is reaching epic proportions, and women and children continue to be brutalized.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Commentary: Landrieu Protects Journalists and Dogs FEMA
United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., commented on Senate Republicans blocking consideration of a law to protect journalists from imprisonment for keeping confidential sources' identities and rips FEMA for report full of blank pages.

Sunday, July 27, 2008
Media: Please Define "Biometric Documents"
(5 comments) Let's get some follow-up on "Biometric Documents"

Thursday, July 24, 2008
DR Congo: Peace Accord Fails to End Killing of Civilians
(8 comments) There is a human rights crisis that is unfolding today in the Democratic Republic of Congo that requires the attention of all journalists. A photographer working in the region was quoted as saying that ANY journalist, publisher, or news organization that turns its back on this crisis is as guilty of pulling the trigger as any warlord in the region.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Guitar Virtuoso Jimmy Robinson at New Orleans' Ogden: "After Hours"
"Vibrating Strings" is a solo acoustic tour de force for New Orleans electric guitar virtuoso Jimmy Robinson, who established his solid reputation with Woodenhead and Twangorama.

Monday, July 14, 2008
Fox-Owned National Geographic Uses Gorillas as Cover for Exploitation of Congo
(26 comments) If readers take the time to apply tenets of critical thinking to a deconstruction of the cover story "Who Murdered the Mountain Gorillas," has education been enhanced? Has the truth been exposed? Or, has National Geographic once again used a story about the senseless killing of animals to deflect attention away from what is actually happening in central Africa?

Sunday, June 29, 2008
Floods, Fear, Serpents and Murder
(7 comments) Blood coagulated between the eyes of the water moccasin like the Hindu bindi as its flaccid five-foot length dangled from the outstretched arm of the boy

Thursday, June 26, 2008
Floods: New Orleans Keeping an Eye on 17th Street Levee
(7 comments) Tim Doody has his hands full right now trying to seat an independent review panel to look at leaks on the 17th street drainage canal that failed catastrophically during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, flooding much of New Orleans.

Monday, June 23, 2008
Floods: Army Corps Says PR Turns Babblers into Spokespersons
(21 comments) A calculated form of disinformation played out in mainstream newspapers, radio networks, and internet sites this weekend as spin doctors acted as apologists for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). This planned distraction was perpetuated while massive levee failures continued up and down the great Mississippi River Basin

Saturday, June 21, 2008
Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS): Diverting Housing Money
(1 comments) Today, Ana Radelat of Mississippi's Clarion-Ledger reports that Gov. Haley Barbour is trying to redirect $600 million in hurricane housing money toward enlarging the Port of Gulfport. The money would be attached to a bill that would fund the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Friday, June 20, 2008
Floods: Can't Blame New Orleans, God, or Mother Nature Anymore
(3 comments) Everyday for the past week there has been another tragedy to report in the heartland."What happened in New Orleans could happen anywhere, but this problem had not been addressed until the recent Midwest flooding."

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Questions Upstream and Downstream: Oil, Food, Floods, War, Broken Levees
(17 comments) Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is at one end of the flooding Mississippi River and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is at the other. Both are Democrats and both do not see eye to eye on Bush's call for more oil drilling in our coastal waters.

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Harkin: "It is a Huge Disaster--We Can't Wait"
(3 comments) Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) addressed his constituents on Tuesday via video from the Senate Chambers.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Midwest Floods: Pundits Have Their Heads in the Sand
(11 comments) There are now 33 levees in danger of breaching-up from 27 yesterday. New breaches and bridge and road closings are occurring by the hour and the pundits are worried about wasting time and energy on Bush and Cheney. What is the matter with all of you?

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu Comments on Flooding in the Midwest
(3 comments) United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today made the following statement on flooding in the Midwest. Sen. Landrieu is chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Disaster Recovery Subcommittee.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Disaster Flood Engineering: Get Busy Iowa and Missouri, and Top Those Levees
(5 comments) On Monday, The Army Corps of Engineers admitted flood waters currently contained by 27 levees along the Mississippi River could spill over about two dozen levees along the river in Iowa and Missouri "unless people top the levees with enough sandbags." Short of that there is always "A crystal ball."

Sunday, June 15, 2008
Considering Graduations, Birthdays and Eternity
(1 comments) Yesterday, the writer's daughter graduated magna cum laude from a very tough school known for lack of grade inflation. The mother/writer watched for four years as her child fought for knowledge and the skills of her trades.

Friday, June 13, 2008
Africa is No More Overpopulated than Iraq was a Haven for Weapons of Mass Destruction
(15 comments) What in the heck is a hectare? I know. Do you? Make it your business to know, because the devil is the details. Otherwise we will believe the propaganda that the innocent people of Africa are weapons of mass destruction. We fell for it once. Are you ready to fall for it again?

Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Song My Paddle Sings
(8 comments) It is not easy to paddle your own canoe

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Source Asks "What is the Real Water Policy of the United States?"
(1 comments) New Orleans is not alone. Catastrophic dam failures are occurring up and down the Mississippi watershed today in the "Flood of 2008," which has the potential to eclipse the Midwest flood of 1993 in tragic consequences.

Monday, June 9, 2008
The Road to Nowhere: NCMR Conjures Memories for an "Old" Journalist
(10 comments) I slid my card across the table to her and mentioned that I was working in New Orleans, and that the Shock Doctrine was still very much in evidence there, and that free press really could use some assistance there, and how could we make this happen?

Sunday, June 8, 2008
While NCMR Meets: Second BBC Reporter Killed in Media's "Horrifying Weekend"
(2 comments) NCMR bloggers meet while two journalists killed in Afghanistan and Somalia

Saturday, June 7, 2008
Day Two NCMR: Moyers Saves the Day
(15 comments) Day Two of the National Conference for Media Reform opened with a slam/dunk speech by Bill Moyers that reminded conference goers what, exactly, is at stake for our democracy.

Saturday, June 7, 2008
LGBT Forum Provides Low Point of Day Two at NCMR
(5 comments) Coverage of Gay and Lesbian Issues falls far short at NCMR

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Minnesota Citizen Journalists' POV at Obama Rally
Coleen Rowley forwarded these remarkable photos from the Obama rally in Minnesota.

Sunday, June 1, 2008
State of New Orleans, Nagin, and a "Little Wet Spot" in the Dike
(7 comments) Less than a month before the start of the 2008 hurricane season, Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans offered a surprisingly sunny outlook for NOLA. Meanwhile, a mysterious "little wet spot" appears in the levee on the 17th Street Canal

Sunday, June 1, 2008
"Truth" Telling vs. TRUTH Telling
(6 comments) There is truth telling, and then there is truth telling. Scott McClellan's contention that Bush manipulated the American public through discarded intelligence about Iraq's capacity to produce weapons of mass destruction is not a revelation of truth. It might be news, and it might be true, but it is not truth telling.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Reports from South Africa Focus on Crime and Ignore History
(4 comments) In the rural areas of Africa the people's lives and histories revolve around their communities and connections with people, the land and tradition. To people living in Africa, white and black alike, the land is not exotic, wild or foreign, it is "home." And home does not always provide safety and comfort.

Saturday, May 24, 2008
Sloppy Forensics Cloud Verdict in DRC Journalist Serge Maheshe's Murder
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) supported the acquittal of two friends of Radio Okapi journalist Serge Maheshe who were accused of taking part in his murder. However, IFJ said in a press release that there were "irregularities" in the trial which precluded discovery of who, exactly, was responsible for Maheshe's murder

Friday, May 23, 2008
Hope "Stands Watch Until the Morning"
(2 comments) Disaster results from betrayals by humanity and nature. Songwriter Caroline Herring Herring suggests that the true of heart tackle the challenge facing heart and mind anyway; running headlong in the maelstrom.

Friday, May 23, 2008
Xenophobic Violence Escalates in South Africa
(5 comments) "It is really a social crisis, of people trying to survive." This writer can confirm the dismal poverty facing residents of the South African Townships.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Missing New Orleans: Nagin, Drag Queens, Obama, and "the old white guy"
(6 comments) God, I miss New Orleans. A daughter's college graduation and other family matters have prompted a return to Minnesota for the summer, but already I feel like I am missing out on--well--everything.

Thursday, May 8, 2008
Mr. Bill (Oh No!) Takes on Big Shell Oil at Jazz Fest
(1 comments) Free speech challenges Big Shell Oil in the skies over New Orleans' Jazz Fest

Sunday, April 27, 2008
Local Women Rock New Orleans Jazz Fest 2008 on Acura Stage and West Bank
(3 comments) Like their protecting presence in so much of southern life, women dominated the main Acura Stage at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 2008, and the opening acts featured New Orleans' sweetheart Susan Cowsill, honkey tonk queen Kim Carson, and the incomparable and indefinable Theresa Andersson.

Friday, April 18, 2008
Please Boycott Celebrity Endorsements
(4 comments) Media should boycott celebrity political endorsements

Thursday, April 17, 2008
Flood Warnings in New Orleans--The Rest of the Story
(5 comments) Hurricane Katrina was the kill, but the water never relents-always moving, sometimes retreating, forever on the move. This week the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for New Orleans as record snow melts and spring rains flowed into the Mississippi River Basin.

Monday, April 14, 2008
Off Duty Writers, Dogs, Children, and Mommas
(4 comments) Of Pete Pan, Dogs, Writers and Children, and Mother's Day

Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Falun Gong "Disappearing by Thousands"
(9 comments) Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said in a recent speech, "China is the "world's worst human right's abuser," and added that Falun Gong practitioners are "disappearing by the thousands."

Monday, April 7, 2008
A Writer's Damaged Sword Arm in New Orleans
(6 comments) Katrina continues to take her toll on the streets of neglect in New Orleans.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Americana Music as Art and History Lesson--Humility and Caroline Herring
(2 comments) Americana roots singer/songwriter Caroline Herring reflects upon her southern heritage and demonstrates that songwriting can be intelligent, contain razor-sharp observations, and function as a tool for social consciousness.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Gorilla Industry Exposed (Again) in Central Africa
(2 comments) International Press Scratches the Surface on "Inside Job" Behind Gorilla Slaughter While Big Stories of Depopulation, Corporate Plunder and War Remain Hidden in the Mists of Propaganda

Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Caroline Herring Brings Roots Music Home on "Lantana"
Writer Caroline Herring brings credibility back to popular Roots Music

Sunday, March 2, 2008
The Stones of the Golden Women: A-Bombs, a Tsunami and a Hackberry Tree Define Art at P.E.N.　
(3 comments) "Screamed, Survived, Start Anew," is the theme of the Japan P.E.N. club's sponsored event, which has attracted writers and musicians from around the world. They have just spent five days presenting their work and discussing human responses to the fury of nature. Every participant at the conference has produced a body of work that speaks to the essence of humanity in the face of the unspeakable.

Sunday, February 17, 2008
Baghdad on the Bayou: Final Report on Deception and Diaspora in New Orleans
(11 comments) By the time a hurricane named Katrina came along, the lies were so immense that all of America found it impossible that anyone could concoct deceptions of such magnitude.

Sunday, February 10, 2008
Is Nothing Sacred, Nothing Holy in Hawaii?
(11 comments) Development on Maui will desecrate the graves, homes, and remnants of the ancient Hawaiian villagers, and by doing so, the hearts, hopes and symbolism of a society that is in great danger of fading from existence.

Thursday, February 7, 2008
Kenyans, on the blood of my children, I indict you all
(7 comments) Even with all these achievements, I have no more reason to live. If you want to look for me as you read this, go to City Mortuary where I have determined to fester among the anonymous people there.

Thursday, January 24, 2008
Elie Wiesel: Please Help Us Write about Gaza and Israel
(33 comments) It is unconscionable that Israel would turn its chokehold blockade of Gaza into a full-scale lockdown of all food, water and humanitarian aid. Bowing to international pressure instead of the pressures of morality, Israel on Tuesday permitted shipments of cooking gas and fuel to power Gaza's one power station.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008
War in DRC Did Not End Today: 45,000 Die Per Month
(7 comments) A new International Rescue Committee (IRC) survey has found that 5,400,000 people have died from war-related causes in Congo since 1998. The study does not mince words and terms the war "the world's deadliest documented conflict since WW II."

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Journalist Jailed in Congo for Investigating Mining Sectors
Investigative journalist Maurice Kayombo has been behind bars In the Democratic Republic of Congo since January 9 on charges of "blackmail and bringing (the mining) authority into disrepute," according to Journalists in Danger and the International Federation of Journalists.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Is the War Over in Congo? Go Ask Alice, I Think She'll Know
GOMA, Congo, Jan 21, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Congo's government and rebel generals have ended an insurgency that displaced more than 450,000 people in the past year. But, MONUC reports this: GOMA, Congo, Jan 21--Dozens of civilians were killed during fighting between rebels and militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, both sides said Saturday, as a peace conference proposed declaring the area a "disaster zone."

Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Gambit Weekly Honors LRA Chairman for New Orleans Recovery Efforts
LRA press officer Melissa Landry made our job incredibly easy while we were in the NOLA area for six weeks in October and November 2007. Landry obtained the contacts we needed on Governor Blanco's office, and returned every email and every phone call with what can only be called extreme efficiency and mutual professional respect.

Monday, December 31, 2007
"Tragedy Unlimited" Says IFJ as Killings of Journalists in 2007 Maintain Record Levels
(2 comments) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today said that violence against journalists in 2007 has reached extreme levels for the third year in succession with 171 confirmed deaths, just below the record set a year ago.

Friday, December 28, 2007
Baghdad on the Bayou: The Shock and Awe of Contractor Fraud Hits the Middle Class Hard-and Not Just in New Orleans
(3 comments) No matter how you cut it, rich or poor, you are all refugees in America. Make no mistake about it, when disaster strikes and the wounded lie helpless, hyenas will always gather for the kill.

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Breaking News: New Orleans
Breaking News from new Orleans

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Breaking News In New Orleans: Stun Guns and Gas Used on Protesters
Breaking News from new Orleans: Protesters face with chemicals and stun guns

Thursday, December 20, 2007
New Orleans Housing Facing Major Reconstructive Surgery: Council Votes 7-0 to let the Bulldozers Roll
(4 comments) A gentrified New Orleans might look beautiful if she presents a new face to the world, but what lies beneath will be scarred and will certainly sag once again as the years and time move forward.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Baghdad on the Bayou: New Orleans-Racial Whitewash, No Housing, and New Heroes
(2 comments) It is time to love the flower girl again.New Orleans is facing a housing crisis of epic proportions, but this crisis did not suddenly spring full blown from the heads of politicians or think tanks. Local heroes have been speaking out long before the housing crisis was hijacked by politicians.

Thursday, December 13, 2007
Baghdad on the Bayou: Cyril Neville Talks About the Threatened Projects and Losing the Home He Loves
(1 comments) Cyril Neville talks about New Orleans..."the city I love."

Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Rhythms Rising II: Ruby Rendrag's Class Act in New Orleans
Ruby Rendrag's Katrina song is intense. She wasn't sure she wanted to play it out for us, since, as she said, it is an "angry" song. The strong, anxious arrangement and hard-hitting chord progressions certainly conveyed fury and more. When Rendrag sings "all night long...waiting for the sound of a gun," you know exactly what the aftermath of Katrina meant for those who stayed.

Monday, December 10, 2007
HUD Huffing and Puffing to Blow Down NOLA Public Housing by Christmas
The ghost of hurricane Katrina is blowing through New Orleans this week as activists try to put the brakes on Housing and Urban development (HUD) plans to bulldoze thousands of low-income apartments in New Orleans.

Sunday, December 9, 2007
Baghdad on the Bayou Redux: Tab Benoit Interview
(3 comments) The first thing that needs to be done is the government needs to tell people the truth. I thought that the FEMA meetings would be that opportunity. These are public meetings, here's a chance to tell everybody that lives in the lower ninth ward. It was a good opportunity to get everybody to evacuate and get everybody out of there.

Thursday, December 6, 2007
Baghdad on the Bayou Redux: Wasting the Wetlands
(10 comments) It was not a hurricane named Katrina that wrecked the city of New Orleans.

Thursday, December 6, 2007
Primate Experimentation Reaches All-Time High
Recent USDA reports have revealed that the use of non-human primates in laboratories has reached an all-time high with 62,315 primates falling under the knife in 2006. At the same time violations of the Animal Welfare Act by laboratories have increased by over 90% in the last five years, the research watchdog group SAEN said today.

Monday, December 3, 2007
Baghdad on the Bayou: Disaster Capitalism and the War on Equality
This Katrina thing was handled as if it would have been Iraq. It was handled in a military way for resources; resources were the main focus, and the only difference is that the hurricane scattered people instead of bombs.

Thursday, November 29, 2007
Rhythms Rising: Musicians Fight for New Orleans
(5 comments) Singer and songwriter Dana Abbott is recalling the day that Lake Pontchartrain devoured the 17th street canal in New Orleans.

Monday, November 26, 2007
Second Urgent SOS from Virunga Park: ICCN Conservationists Torture School Principal
OpEdNews received an urgent plea from the Democratic Republic of Congo today. On September 27, 2007, Raphael Muhindo YALALA, Director of the Lulimbi Primary School, and headmaster of the Nyakakoma secondary school, was savagely beaten and tortured by conservationists working in Virunga National Park, DRC

Friday, November 23, 2007
3000 Words and a Song for Louisiana
(9 comments) Air, water, land and people are suffering. Injury is visible and pain is palpable. Three proverbial pictures must suffice for now where words cannot.

Monday, November 19, 2007
Hold Presidential Debates in New Orleans, for God's Sake!
(4 comments) We are going to get skewered for saying this, but racism and the agenda of big oil is everywhere. People are afraid to speak out and have left it to white northerners from white bread country to open the discussion. It is unbelievable, as Landry so astutely points out, that the Commission on Presidential Debates has rejected an application to host presidential debates in New Orleans!

Monday, November 19, 2007
Betty Harris Raises Temperature of New Orleans' West Bank
Betty Harris, on the list of the greatest soul singers of all time, gave a knock down, drag-out-all-the-emotion performance at New Orleans' Old Point Bar on St. Algiers Point. Some of the city's finest back-up musicians were there to support her in the person of Marc Stone's Band.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
30,000 Flee Gunfire in DRC While Conservation Groups Salivate Over Satellite Photos
(4 comments) 30,000 refugees fled in panic through the hills. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) does not believe the camps themselves were targeted, according to information supplied by MONUC. Meanwhile, in an absolutely stunning disconnect of priorities, conservation groups have been spewing out press notices that IKONOS satellite photos have been donated to them to monitor gorilla habitat.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007
FWC CREATES CENTER FOR PREDICTION OF RED TIDES: Why Not Stop It Instead?
(6 comments) Money spent on enforcement of existing environmental regulations on industry would go a long way towards mitigating red tides and other harmful algae blooms. There is no reason to track it if you can't stop it. Humans can get out of the way, but wildlife remains vulnerable.

Sunday, November 11, 2007
Misery Continues in DRC: Cholera, More Refugees, FARDC Abuse, and Radioactive Ore Dumping
The Misery Continues in DRC: Cholera, More Refugees, FARDC Abuse and Radioactive Ore Dumping

Tuesday, November 6, 2007
US Aid Flows to Gorillas and Zoos While Children are Gunned Down in DRC Refugee Camps
Police in North Kivu province opened fire on refugees during a violent protest over food distributions, killing a child and wounding 11 civilians. Hundreds of villagers have been driven from their homes in recent weeks by fighting between government soldiers (FARDC) and rebels.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Now, Republicans Threaten to Hold Road Home Money AND Congress Hostage
Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) announced late today (Tuesday, November 6) that that Congressional negotiators have agreed to provide an additional $3 billion for Louisiana's Road Home program in a pending defense bill.

Monday, November 5, 2007
UN Probes Congo Slaughter: What about Possible US Involvement in the Invasion of Zaire?
(2 comments) According to eyewitnesses who have since come forward in conversations with OPED NEWS there is strong evidence that the United States was actively involved in the invasion of what was then Zaire, operating from secret bases in Uganda.

Sunday, November 4, 2007
Believe in Susan Cowsill's "Just Believe It"
(2 comments) It's a writer's dream to be given the opportunity to recount an artist's telling of the beginnings of her career and the soundtrack of an era. But, there is another story surfacing that has been lost. It's the story of too many artists who are bought and sold down the river by record companies, deep pockets, pressure to perform no matter what, and artistry that is either ignored or subject to the whimsy of news arcs.

Friday, November 2, 2007
Louisiana Labor Department Announces Katrina Clean-Up Grant
(2 comments) The Louisiana Department of Labor announced on Thursday, November 1, that it has received a $10.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to assist 3,500 citizens in hurricane-affected parishes. LDOL requested the National Emergency Grant, which will allow the agency to continue serving those affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Thursday, November 1, 2007
Katrina Road Home Money Tied Up in Congress
(1 comments) Katrina victims are seeds scattered by the wind to Houston, Galveston, and Baton Rouge. They are waiting for the promise of Road Home money that has been held up by an Iraq spending bill. You hear "Road Home" again and again.

Thursday, November 1, 2007
SPJ leaders call FEMA-staged news briefing an abuse of public trust
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Oct. 23 press conference in southern California, where agency employees posed as news reporters, was a blatant abuse of public trust, leaders of the Society of Professional Journalists said this week.

Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sinead O'Connor Delivers Magic at New Orleans' Voodoo Fest
(1 comments) Nothing compared to Sinead O'Connor as she commanded center stage at New Orleans' Voodoo Fest on Saturday, October 27. Two years post Katrina, New Orleans is still struggling to reclaim its heritage and culture, and festivals like Voodoo provide a welcome escape and just plain fun.

Friday, October 26, 2007
Voice from Congo: Is the Pen Mightier Than the Sword?
(1 comments) What you are doing might seem to be insignificant as I said up before all these powers of evils (multinational powers, the power of humanitarians killing us while they are smiling, Christian NGOs not doing what they preach).

Thursday, October 25, 2007
New Orleans Not Resting Easy Two Years Post Katrina
(3 comments) This writer wants desperately to tell you the story of this place where people ask me if they are still part of the United States. She has fallen in love with the people, the ambiance and the craziness that drives some away and makes others even more determined to stay. New Orleans and all of southern Louisiana is a sight to behold.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Human Rights Watch Details "Horrific" Crimes in DR Congo Province
Amid ongoing violence in Democratic Republic of Congo's Nord Kivu province, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a one hundred page report denouncing "horrific" crimes perpetrated there against civilians.

Monday, October 22, 2007
Congo War Takes Civilian Toll: New Voices from Congo
The mainstream media continues to ignore the war between the DRC armed forces and Nkunda and the civilian toll its exacts. No one knows for sure what price the innocents will pay. The so-called "conservation" situation is a mess and a front for the proxy wars.

Thursday, October 18, 2007
University of Washington Accused of Falsifying USDA Reports
University of Washington officials in Seattle are accused of filing false reports to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. A major news conference to release details of the complaint is scheduled on THURSDAY, 10:15 a.m. at the Seattle Tower.

Thursday, October 11, 2007
Nkunda Says DRC Bombs Raining Down on Villages
(2 comments) Once again, this writer is asking the readers of OEdNews to apply tenets of critical thinking to the mainstream news reports flooding out of the Democratic Republic of Congo today.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007
General Nkunda Makes His Move in Virunga: Perhaps a Good Thing?
(1 comments) Nkunda has always been an enigma. It is true that remnants of the Interahamwe genocidairres infest regions of eastern Congo. So do innocent Hutus and Tutsis alike. One must separate the civilian population from the armed militias when speaking about this region and not paint a false portrait with a brush soaked in the colors of ethnic tensions and multi-national interests.

Friday, October 5, 2007
Reports of Deaths in Congo Plane Crash Under-Reported
MONUC reports that civil aviation authorities had said 19 people were reported to be on board, while police reported nobody had survived the crash and fire but officials said planes often gave incorrect passenger manifests to avoid paying taxes.

Thursday, October 4, 2007
Malian Legislature Holds Discussions on Female Genital Mutilation
On October 2, 2007 the president of the Malian National Assembly, Djongouda Traor�, received a delegation from Sini Sanuman (Healthy Tomorrow), which presented him with over 30,000 signatures on the Pledge Against Excision. Excision is a form of female genital mutilation

Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Sun News: Virungas of Eastern Congo: Population and World Heritage in Peril
Bloodletting in Congo began in 1876 with Henry Morton Stanley's mission as a mercenary agent of exploitation, employed to "open up the Congo" for Belgian's King Leopold. The Leopold/Stanley enterprise resulted in horrible suffering and massacres, setting the stage for what is happening in Central Africa today.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
IFJ Fears Detained Journalist Killed in Gambia
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today expressed its fear that Chief Ebrima Manneh, who has been missing for more than a year and was reportedly being held incommunicado, has been killed in jail in The Gambia.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Should the World Boycott the Beijing Olympics? The Horrific Story of the Falun Gong
(10 comments) On August 3, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, the Ranking Member on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, introduced a House Resolution to boycott the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Grim News from the Democratic Republic of Congo:Mass Graves, Refugees and Ebola
According to MONUC, at least 3,000 people have flooded a refugee camp near Goma in the past two days.

Monday, September 24, 2007
VOICES FROM CONGO: "What pain! We do not know where we are going. What is this war?"
(4 comments) "You can't image how I felt. It was like you are in a desert dying with thirst and suddenly you have some one in front of you handing you some water, just to lift it up to have a drink, to find it was an empty container. This is how I suffered."

Thursday, September 20, 2007
Are USAID Funds Being Used for Covert Operations in Central Africa?
(2 comments) In 2005, Amnesty International reported large quantities of weapons and ammunition from the Balkans and Eastern Europe were flowing into Africa's conflict-ridden Great Lakes region, Kivu Province, and Virunga Park.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Vanderbilt Negligence Kills Laboratory Animals Says SAEN
Laboratory Animals at Vanderbilt endure pain without anesthesia, according to watchdog group

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Satan's Letter to St. Michael and St. Gabriel Mirrors CONGO Conflict
"This is a strange place, an extraordinary place, and interesting. The people are all insane, the other animals are all insane, the earth is insane, Nature itself is insane....

Monday, September 17, 2007
Moral Snake Oil Soothes as Sexual Abuse of Women Continues in DRC
Today's human rights report from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was a non sequitur. How can a report detailing the fact that a FARDC (Regular Congolese Army) soldier allegedly raped and then chopped a Hutu woman to death along with her three-month-old baby be termed a chronicle of "human rights?"

Thursday, September 13, 2007
S.O.S in Eastern Congo:Magic Sticks, Corruption and Gorilla Warfare
(2 comments) In a stunning revelation, investigators from the Innovation for the Conservation and Protection of the Environment (I.C.P.E.)-affiliated with the World Society for the Protection of Animals and supported by Animal Rights of Hawai'i-describe "a network of people who are in search for sticks that the big apes, such as those the gorillas and the chimpanzees use." Congo today is a humanitarian disaster that makes the Titanic look

Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Congolese Conservation Expert Under Attack for Speaking Out About Corruption
(1 comments) Involving Western Conservation and Humanitarian Organizations in Central Africa

Thursday, August 16, 2007
Kong Six: Mapping the Road to Tayna
(1 comments) "There is too strong of a linking of funds to geographic areas without adequately linking them to existing governance regimes. Specifically, this led several observers to characterizing the landscape grants as "pork" for the conservation movement with minimal CARPE ownership by national governments."--The Weidemann Consortium, 2006

Thursday, August 2, 2007
MN State Senator Mary Olson Reports on Bridge Collapse
Minnesota State Senator Mary Olson (District 4) reports that she and family were traveling within sight of the I-35 W Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis five minutes before it collapsed.

Thursday, August 2, 2007
MN Senators Klobuchar and Coleman Briefed about Bridge Collapse
(1 comments) In background for OPED News Senator Amy Klobuchar's office said that the Senator is meeting with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybek, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and Senator Norm Coleman at this time and Klobuchar will have another statement for OPED News later today.

Thursday, August 2, 2007
Bridge Collapse Update: MN Department of Public Safety
(10 comments) Situation Report #1 was released by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, on August 1, 2007 at 10:00 p.m.

Thursday, August 2, 2007
Bridge Collapse: Possible Structural Issues
(10 comments) Minneapolis ABC Television outlet Channel 5 has reported that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDot) conducted a study in 2006 which rated the I-35 bridge as "low to moderate" and stated that there was fatigue cracking of the deck. In addition, "there was out of plane bending of an approach span girder."

Thursday, August 2, 2007
MN State Senator Steve Murphy Said Governor Ignored Safety in May
MN State Senator Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, responded to Governor Pawlenty's veto of a transportation bill back in May 2007. Sen. Murphy expressed his disappointment in Gov. Pawlenty's May decision to veto a bonding bill, which provided funding for public works projects throughout Minnesota.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Deconstructing Newsweek and the Gorilla Killings in Congo
(4 comments) Newsweek's coverage of the gorilla killings in Congo not journalism-it is more of a public relations fabrication serving as both a fundraiser and cheerleader for Wildlife Direct-and its backer and board member Walter Kansteiner. The Congo rangers trained by Wildlife Direct are mostly outsiders with no ties to the local communities around the park. In a place like Congo, this ethnic influx is tantamount to a foreign invasion.

Monday, July 30, 2007
Dian Fossey and the Gorilla Killings
It is time to go back to Dian Fossey's story and consider how she would handle the recent senseless gorilla killings juxtaposed with the unspeakable atrocities committed against women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Saturday, July 28, 2007
Sexual Violence Against Women and Children in DRC of "Unimaginable Brutality": But Gorilla Killings Get Top Billing
(2 comments) The mainstream press has been all over the senseless and tragic killing of four mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But, no one has yet reported an important release from the United Nations' Mission to DR Congo (MONUC) that there have been 4,500 cases of sexual violence against women and children in the first six months of this year in South Kivu Province alone.

Friday, July 13, 2007
Condoleezza Rice to Skip Congo Visit but Can Catch Up on Africa Here
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has canceled a planned trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She can catch up on Africa here. An International Peace Conference, sponsored by the United Nations Association of San Diego, was held two weeks ago and featured keynote speaker Professor Amii-Omara Otunnu, the North American UNESCO Chair holder in Human Rights, and journalist keith harmon snow.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Watchdog SAEN Demands USDA Fine for Vanderbilt and Releases Government Reports Exposing Lab Violations
USDA inspection reports reveal that Vanderbilt's research laboratories have broken federal law at least 49 times in recent months - up 54 percent in about one year, with many repeat violations.

Thursday, June 28, 2007
Despite Aid, Violence and Displacement Plague Eastern Congo--MONUC Reports
Eastern DRC is one of the most violent regions in the world, but this story has been grossly under-reported. Kemal Saiki, spokesman for the U.N. force in Congo reports that in the eastern town of Kisharu about 25,000 displaced civilians have been unable to receive assistance because of the risk of looting. Many have fled their homes towards the Ugandan border.

Monday, June 25, 2007
Congo Plane Crash "Embarrassment" for International Airline Industry-Bush Blocks Rulemaking
American Gail Dunham, President of the National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation (www.planesafe.org/) responded by saying, "The aviation safety statistics in Africa are awful, just awful," but pointed out that the United States can only force safety standards if airlines fly into the U.S.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Watchdog Group SAEN Banned from National Primate Meeting
SAEN will release documents and photos detailing law violations and waste of tax dollars

Friday, June 15, 2007
Congo soldiers arrested for Radio Okapi journalist's murder
Police have arrested suspects in the murder of Serge Maheshe, a broadcaster for Radio Okapi, a nationwide radio network set up to aid the peace process in Congo after the 1998-2003 war, was shot on Wednesday in the South Kivu provincial capital of Bukavu. He has a wife and two children.

Thursday, June 14, 2007
IFJ Condemns Shooting of Journalist in DRC; Killing Is Third in Two Years
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the killing of radio journalist Serge Maheshe, whose shooting yesterday evening in the eastern town of Bukavu made him the third journalist murdered in the country since November 2005.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Coleen Rowley for Congress...Er, Prophet
(2 comments) I smiled as I saw the email from Coleen Rowley. She is the former 911 FBI whistleblower, Time Magazine Person of the Year, and I happily worked on her campaign for Congress last year. The email subject line said something about "rapture insurance" and I immediately thought Coleen was in one of her witty moods about policy, so I promptly clicked on the link she provided-- http://www.sovereigndeed.com

Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Research Watchdog Demands Probation for Harvard and Vanderbilt
(2 comments) SAEN, a national research watchdog organization has demanded that the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) place Harvard Medical School and Vanderbilt University on probation for incidents of animal abuse and negligence.

Sunday, June 3, 2007
Gorillas and the Myths
(4 comments) Why are mainstream media so loathe to demystify the myths of African savages? Don Imus was crucified for racist comments that pale compared to what conservation organizations are saying about villagers in the Democratic Republic of Congo who are fighting starvation. Allow them to plant some maize in the Virungas, for gods's sake.

Friday, May 25, 2007
Research Watchdog Organization (S.A.E.N.) Demands Ban On Largest U.S. Primate Importers
Government Documents Reveal Pattern of Extreme Federal Law Violations

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Greening of Hate Exposed
(4 comments) Hiasl the chimp might just expose the haters in the environmental movement.The Greening of Hate is real. Racism and prejudice is the soft underbelly of the animal rights movement, which in itself, is a noble concept.

Sunday, May 6, 2007
Primate Worship? Or Depo-Privations?
In the jungle of international human rights, the primate protection community and international conservation organizations can hardly be said to care a sniff for the rights of the humans who live in the environments of the great apes themselves. Viennese chimp "Hiasl" has more human rights.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
More "Regime Change" as Bush Outs "Terrorists" in Somalia
(2 comments) Machine gunfire, mortars, rape, disease and more are plaguing the African nation of Somalia, and civilians are taking the brunt of yet another mess created by the United States.

Thursday, April 12, 2007
Greenpeace Report Exposes Empty Promises in Congo
Greenpeace, to their credit, has gone after the World Bank and International logging companies. NOT ONE DOLLAR of the World Bank imposed taxes on logging companies has gone to local authorities, according to the report. However, conservation organizations have mysteriously remained immune from criticism.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Whining Sportswomen Beat Burning Congo Rape Victims in Imus Media Ratings
(4 comments) When will Americans wake up, and turn away from glorified sports heroes and champion the poor, the dispossessed, the robbed, and the abused in the third world? The Imus tempest in a teapot is a national shame and shows how ignorant Americans are of real suffering and racism.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007
DRC Update: Shape-Shifting and Ignoring the Truth
The US State Department issued a belated release late Monday (March 26), condemning the violence of last week in the Democratic Republic of Congo. What is most disturbing is that the number of dead and wounded was low-balled at 12 dead and 47 wounded by China, which has huge economic interests in the region.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007
DRC Update From Ground: "Ay Ay Ay, This is Grave!"
(1 comments) At a press conference in Kinshasa this Tuesday March 27 2007, the representatives of the European Union countries to the DRC expressed their 'indignation' at the recourse to the violent armed Kinshasa conflict of March 22 to 25 2007, 'when all routes to dialogue were not yet exhausted.' German ambassador Karl Albrecht Wokalek said the death toll 'could reach 600.'

Monday, March 26, 2007
"You Cannot Eat Propaganda, and You Cannot Eat Hope..."
(3 comments) Nearly 4 million people have died from hunger and disease in DRC in an unreported war which has raged since 1998. The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) is reporting that over 100 people were killed in the capital city of Kinshasa in two days of heavy fighting that ended Friday. Try to find this story in mianstream media.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
IFJ Calls on African Union to Protect Somali Journalists after Beating of Four Reporters
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Monday called on the African Union (AU) to protect journalists in Somalia after the recent beating of four reporters by soldiers.

Monday, March 5, 2007
Miserable Eyes In the Democratic Republic of Congo: Please Read This, Congressman Murtha
Ever wonder where your tax dollars are going in Africa through USAID conservation programs? Conservationists don't want you to know.The USAID money wasted in Africa could rebuild our veterans and conservation programs here at home.

Sunday, February 18, 2007
MONUC Safety Net is Only Access to Democratic Republic of Congo
(3 comments) The United Nations peacekeeping force (MONUC) in DRC is the first and last resort for journalists trying to get to the truth in the heart of darkness.

Saturday, January 20, 2007
Man Bites Gorilla Is News, Not Man's Inhumanity to Man
General Laurent Nkunda issues statement denying involvement in gorilla killings in DRC, while his troops continue to control areas where gorillas were killed. Media sensationalizes accounts of gorilla killings while ignoring human suffering.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007
More Gorillas Killed in Eastern DRC
Rebel forces take over critically endangered mountain gorilla habitat in Democratic Republic of Congo. Villagers report that gorilla remains are placed in pit latrines. MONUC supports recovery.

Sunday, January 14, 2007
Is Old Media Holding New Media Hostage?
Africa, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a subject that is under-reported. The MONUC website is a primer for a crash-course on the DRC and an opportunity to swim free from the current news cycles, open our collective eyes, and take a breath of new air.

Thursday, January 11, 2007
CONGO REBELS SHOOT SILVERBACK GORILLA
(5 comments) An endangered silverback gorilla was shot and killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo 29 years after Dian Fossey's "Digit" was killed.The killing happened on January 5, 2007, less than 600 metres from a patrol post at Bikenge, which was recently abandoned following rebel attacks.

Saturday, December 30, 2006
Christmas Charities Got Your Goat?
Charitable donors want to see the biggest piece of the NGO pie going to program services-but pie charts can be misleading.

Thursday, December 21, 2006
International Primate Protection League Provides Emergency Support for Displaced Conservation "Guardian Rangers"
An elite conservation ranger force -- a first line of defense for the mountain gorilla -- became caught in the middle of clashes between the Dissident General Laurant Nkunda and the Congolese military near Jomba, DRC. The rangers and their families received immediate relief from the International Primate Protection League

Friday, December 15, 2006
Ebola! What would Dian Fossey Do?
The world media has hysterically latched onto a study suggesting that an Ebola outbreak in wildlife sanctuaries which straddle the border between Gabon and the Republic of Congo killed over 5,000 lowland gorillas. There are two glaring problems with the extrapolations on the study: there is no accurate count of the numbers of lowland gorillas in the world, and there are many areas of the Congo interior that are inaccessible.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Ebola! What would Dian Fossey Do?
The world media has hysterically latched onto a study suggesting that an Ebola outbreak in wildlife sanctuaries which straddle the border between Gabon and the Republic of Congo killed over 5,000 lowland gorillas. There are two glaring problems with the extrapolations on the study: there is no accurate count of the numbers of lowland gorillas in the world, and there are many areas of the Congo interior that are inaccessible.

Tuesday, December 5, 2006
The Day the Coleen Rowley Campaign Faced the Advertising on the Wall
(3 comments) Former FBI whistleblower and Time Magazine Person of the Year, Coleen Rowley, faces the reality of Republican swift-boating in her first Congressional bid in Minnesota CD-2. In the year after 9/11, most Minnesotans, if they did not know Coleen Rowley's name, knew that there was a former FBI agent from the Minneapolis area who suspected there was something fishy about Zacarias Moussaoui.