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Georgianne Nienaber is an investigative environmental and political writer. She lives in rural northern Minnesota, New Orleans and South Florida. Her articles have appeared in The Society of Professional Journalists' Online Quill Magazine, The Ugandan Independent, Rwanda's New Times, India's TerraGreen, COA News, ZNET, OpEdNews, Glide Magazine, The Journal of the International Primate Protection League, Africa Front, The United Nations Publication, A Civil Society Observer, Bitch Magazine, and Zimbabwe's The Daily Mirror. Her fiction expos- of insurance fraud in the horse industry, Horse Sense, was re-released in early 2006. Gorilla Dreams: The Legacy of Dian Fossey was also released in 2006. Nienaber spent much of 2007 doing research in South Africa, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She was in DRC as a MONUC-accredited journalist, and has been living Southern Louisiana investigating hurricane reconstruction and getting to know the people there since late 2007. Nienaber is currently developing a documentary on the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone, and continuing "to explore the magic of the Deep South." She is a member of the Memphis Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Saturday, January 21, 2012 Did Media Collude With Rwanda to Set Up Congo General Laurent Nkunda? (2 comments)
The United Nations High Command on Refugees issued a press release today saying in part that renewed violence variously involving "government troops, FDLR forces, and local defence groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile eastern region has forced over 100,000 civilians out of their homes since late November." Attacks in Shabunda have displaced some 70,000 people since November.Nkunda can't be blamed for this.
Friday, December 23, 2011 Congo Community Faces Christmas Assassinations and Issues Plea for Help
Two days ago Radio Okapi reported 7 people were slaughtered by the FDLR in the Groupement of Ikobo, Banyanga Sector , Walikale Territory. These were targeted assassinations, telegraphed in advance.
Friday, July 29, 2011 Sex for Work in Haiti
Could it be true that transactional sex, kickbacks, and other "favors" are de facto requirements for Haitians applying for work that is funded by USAID?
Saturday, April 23, 2011 Violence Erupts in Wake of New Election Shenanigans in Haiti
Haiti's newly elected president, Michel Martelly, has requested that the international community "not recognize the results of the Parliamentary elections" in press release issued late Friday night. Martelly charges that vote tabulations for senators and deputies who were leading in the polls were excluded in favor of candidates representing the ruling party, INITE.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 A 'To Do' List for US Troops Now Arriving in Haiti
Depending on the source, up to 300 US troops now have "boots on the ground" in Haiti in anticipation of the announcement of election results this past Monday.
Monday, February 28, 2011 Samia Salomon: A Central Pillar of Haiti's Community Journalism Network
Do we need foreign correspondents when there are trained journalists in-country? Who can best tell the story? Who understands Haiti better than a Haitian journalist? Who can tell the story of women in Congo, Iraq, or China and Tibet better than Chouchou Namegabe, Atwar Bahjet, and Tsering Woeser. What does it mean, exactly, to be a feminist journalist in Haiti?
Saturday, February 19, 2011 Death in a Bottle for a Handful of Haitian Coins (3 comments)
nternet chatter began in earnest on January 26 when foreign medical interests in Haiti reported sudden onsets of blindness, breathing difficulties, paralysis and death in the remote Haitian village of Fond Baptiste. Men, women, and babies were falling ill with no apparent epidemiologic reason. It was not cholera and it was not polio.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 Haiti: Clean Water Is a Human Right If You Can Find it (1 comments)
OCHA reports that several non-governmental "charity" organizations (NGOs) are about to reduce their activities relating to clean water and sanitation "because of a lack of funding or to focus on longer term strategies." The problem is that, once introduced into an ecosystem, the cholera bacterium will not go away, even if the relief organizations do so.
Thursday, February 10, 2011 Haiti: Can We Find Truth in Empathy? (4 comments)
Dying is fascinating. The living are not as interesting. And it is the living who make up the connective tissue that holds Haitian society together. Unless they are allowed to heal, Haiti cannot heal. The displaced and dispossessed are invisible because we do not look closely, preferring to hold ourselves at a safe distance
Thursday, January 20, 2011 The Return of Duvalier: Haiti's Denouement? (8 comments)
The story of the unexpected and shocking return of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier on Sunday, and the spectacle of his questioning by Haitian authorities on Tuesday, has as many subplots as a Greek drama.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Breaking: "Baby Doc" Duvalier in Custody. Preval's Distraction? (1 comments)
t approximately 10:15 EST Haitian Police Commissioner La Croix, government commissioner Aristidas, and Judge Ambroise Gabriel converged on Room 303 of the Karibe Hotel to issue an arrest warrant for former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc'' Duvalier.
Monday, January 17, 2011 Is Baby Doc Duvalier's Return To Haiti a Distraction or Scare Tactic? (3 comments)
The shocking arrival of the self described "president for life" "Baby Doc"Duvalier is yet another body from the bloody past, pulled from the ruins of a manipulated society.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 OCHA: 2.2 Million Haitian Children at Risk for Cholera (3 comments)
Nearly 2.2 million Haitian school children are at risk of contracting cholera due to poor sanitation and health practices, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Sunday, January 9, 2011 Think Tank Report: Haiti's Election "Fatally Flawed"
Today, Sunday January 9,The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) has released a report of its independent recount of vote tally sheets from Haiti's November 28 election. CEPR supports claims from candidates, the Haitian press, and other observers that the election was plagued by fraud.
Friday, January 7, 2011 Port-au-Prince Still Buried Under the Rubble of Competing NGOs (2 comments)
Both OXFAM and the Disaster Accountability Project released reports this week that enhance already serious criticism of the relationship between the Government of Haiti and NGOs, and the inability of both to offer support to the Haitian people.
Saturday, December 25, 2010 "Ayiti Kale Je" Video Offers Fearless Look at Haiti's Christmas Cholera
If reading about Haiti's cholera epidemic is your cup of tea on Christmas Eve, sensationalist news coverage of lynchings of voodoo priests will top your Google search. UPI, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and others are reporting that 45 Vodun (the uninformed term it "voodoo") priests were killed by angry mobs allegedly blaming them for the spread of cholera.
Monday, December 13, 2010 Are Cholera Vaccines Good For Haiti? (3 comments)
The bottom line remains sanitation infrastructure, and if the WHO's plan to institute a cholera vaccine program that is unproven, untested and seemingly unreliable according the WHO's own studies is implemented, the result will be a panacea as far as the world is concerned.
Sunday, November 21, 2010 Watchdog Group Says NGOs "Duped" Donors and "Failed Haiti" (9 comments)
Major relief organizations raised billions of dollars, while telling the public that their relief efforts included water and sanitation work. With half of the funds raised still in the bank, DAP says that aid organizations failed to use the funds with the same urgency conveyed to donors, and that a cholera epidemic was avoidable.
Thursday, November 18, 2010 STATE DEPT WAKING UP ON HAITI, SORT OF, WHILE UN CIRCLES WAGONS
While the UN is circling the wagons trying to dodge blame for introducing cholera into Haiti, the US State Department is now taking note of the spreading epidemic, stating that they have a four-pronged approach to dealing with it. But will this even begin to slow down such a virulent strain now beginning to show up in Miami? Doesn't Haiti really need a Marshall Plan to get a million plus people out of wretched tent cities?
Saturday, November 13, 2010 Haiti:Tracking Deadly Cholera Through the Central Valley (2 comments)
Haiti is facing an uncontained crisis. It is eleven months since the January earthquake, and the streets are still filled with garbage and rubble, the camps are filthy, and cholera will ultimately have its way.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 Haiti: Ground Truthing Cholera in Mirebalais (1 comments)
Why was the Nepalese contingent of the United Nations "Occupation Force" in Haiti illegally blocking a certified journalist from walking about near their camp while still on public Haitian soil? could it be that they have something to hide? Sure looks like it.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010 Haiti: Testimony From Camp Corail as Cholera Looms
Independent journalist and OpEdNews contributor Georgianne Nienaber has just returned from a 3-day investigation of Hurricane Tomas-stricken Haiti and warns that this has only exacerbated the festering cholera outbreak, which threatens to turn into a full-scale epidemic at any time. Conditions in the camps are deplorable, as you will learn from the testimony of Haitians themselves in this article.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 Time to Rebrand Haiti's Tent Cities as Tomas Approaches
A soon to return to Hurricane status tropical storm Tomas is several days away from a direct hit on Haiti if current weather models are correct. The potential for a full scale disaster exists because there is little to no shelter for hundreds of thousands of Haitians still trapped in a myriad of relocation camps that will be badly exposed to wind, rain and flooding once Tomas hits. The global community needs to take action.
Friday, October 22, 2010 Haiti: Cholera Outbreak Metaphor for No Accountability (2 comments)
Our and Haitians' worst fears are beginning to materialize, that the totally UNSAT living conditions of well over a million Haitians have put them at risk for a serious disease outbreak. In fact cholera has begun to spread, so now it will take a concerted international health effort to prevent this from becoming a deadly epidemic. And then something real must be done for Haitians to get them out of these fetid conditions.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 DR Congo: War Criminal Ntaganda and Rwandan Security Agents Accused of Assassinations
HRW says that Ntaganda's victims are family members or former supporters of the Tutsi rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda, whom Ntaganda ousted from the leadership of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) rebel group in January 2009 with the help of military authorities from nearby Rwanda.
Thursday, September 2, 2010 Oil Rig Incident in Vermillion Bay, Louisiana (4 comments)
A Coast Guard spokesman said that 13 people were on the rig and that 1 person was injured and the other 12 have been accounted for. (UPDATE) As of noon CST all workers are accounted for and safe.During the last week of August 2010, production from this facility averaged approximately 9.2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and 1,400 barrels of oil and condensate.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Bill Clinton Puts Influential Muscle Behind Agriculture In Haiti (1 comments)
Clinton has a personal stake in Haiti's agricultural projects, resulting from his regret over policies that basically pushed Haiti to accept subsidized US imports (rice) at the expense of Haiti's agricultural infrastructure. How do we know? He said so.
Friday, August 27, 2010 Orange Beach AL Testing the Waters As Rumors Flow Faster Than Oil (6 comments)
Orange Beach, Alabama has been the subject of many questions, accusations and rumors regarding the presence of Corexit components, oil, and "cover-ups" regarding the safety of the area for residents and tourists alike. So, we took a drive and spent two days in the area, interviewing activists and city officials.
Friday, August 13, 2010 Women Artists Defy Gulf Oil Tragedy (11 comments)
Their art incorporated individual acts of defiance against the atrocity of BP's negligence, and in the process of creating these bold acts of emotional insubordination they brought forth hope, as women often do in their roles as healers and life-givers
Thursday, July 29, 2010 Reality Flyover at Macondo Wellhead: Oil Is Still There Folks (5 comments)
Our featured NASA pilot, Bonny Schumaker, took NBC up for a tour of the oiled waters yesterday. NBC is taking the lead now and stressing that the oil has not disappeared, it is just hidden. See the report here
Friday, July 23, 2010 BP Sock Puppets Open Fisheries as Bonnie Looms
There is no doubt that Gulf commercial fishermen have been suffering greatly from a lack of income in the aftermath of the explosion of the Macondo well-head. States have lost revenue from fishing licensing and supportive recreational industries, and BP would certainly like to reduce its liability for lost income and wages.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 Rwandan Elections Rigged with Fear As Opponents Murdered (3 comments)
Just when it seemed that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was going to hold all central African dictators' feet to the fire, the silence of the United States is offering tacit approval to the Kagame regime and elections that are being rigged with fear.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 BP Oil Pollution Produces Pressure for Poor Water and Air Analysis (4 comments)
Are the waters off the coast of Louisiana clear of public health hazards? Or was the opening of recreational fishing due to pressure from the recreational industry as well as the specter of lost income? The end result is that sport fishermen may be relying upon a visual inspection of the water and a smell test.
Monday, July 19, 2010 Thad Allen Says Team Observing Macondo Well for Seepage and Possible Methane (8 comments)
At 5:41 AM this morning National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen issued a statement that a conference call last night between BP and a federal science team was convened to discuss a seep near the blown Macondo well-head and a "possible observation of methane" over the well.
Sunday, July 18, 2010 Thad Allen Tells BP Seabed "Seeping" and Demands More Monitoring (25 comments)
Adm. Thad Allen released a letter to BP Chief Managing Director Bob Dudley tonight in which he demands that BP provide more monitoring information, citing "a detected seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head."
Friday, July 16, 2010 Mikulski Slams EPA on Dispersants: "Tighten Up So We Don't Screw Up" (12 comments)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) asked EPA head, Lisa Jackson, if dispersants could become the "Agent Orange of the Gulf," and then opened the door to the possibility that Mikulski will subpoena the manufacturer, Nalco Holding Co. at a future date. The maker of Corexit 9500 refused to attend the Senate Appropriations science subcommittee hearing on Thursday.
Saturday, July 10, 2010 Social Networking on Steroids Spotlights BP Spill (7 comments)
It is impossible for news organizations and independent journalists to be everywhere, but the people of the Gulf Coast have access to every bayou, every backwater, every inch of Pensacola Beach, the Atchafalaya Basin, Grand Isle, Orange Beach and every drop of oil that is ruining their lives. Now, they can document it for the world to see.
Friday, July 9, 2010 Winona LaDuke Pledges Help for Native Tribes Drowning in BP Oil (1 comments)
LaDuke said, "Honor the Earth made a decision in late June to apply $l0,000 of it's resources to support Indigenous communities advocacy in the Gulf of Mexico, in this time of disasters."
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 EPA, Coast Guard, and BP PR Tied to Airborne Corexit Denials (8 comments)
However, the EPA site which provides real time data for air quality monitoring on the Gulf Coast indicated that from May 18-June 6 "two chemicals found in dispersants" were detected at numerous GPS locations on the Gulf.
Monday, July 5, 2010 BP's PR Firm Embedded with Coast Guard (5 comments)
In her own words, Polish is a media liaison for the Coast Guard, a Coast Guard reservist, a photographer for the Coast Guard, a branding and media specialist, and is working for Ogilvy, whose client is BP, "Creating engaging experiences designed to promote awareness, brand loyalty, advocacy and conversion."
Friday, July 2, 2010 EPA Test for Endocrine Disruptors in Corexit Misses the Point (5 comments)
The question any chemistry major might ask is why was a test for "endocrine disruption" the first test of choice when one would not expect 2-butoxyethanol to be an endocrine disruptor based on its chemical structure? The tests for endocrine disruption in 2-butoxyethanol were negative and that is a result one would expect. The real threats of dispersants were not addressed in this study.
Sunday, June 27, 2010 Journalist Murdered and Independent Press Under Attack in Rwanda
The killing of Rugambage was not the first incident of violence against journalists. In February 2007, a group of assailants attacked the independent newspaper Umuvugizi's editor, Jean-Bosco Gasasira, in a near fatal incident outside his house, after he spoke out at a presidential news conference about the harassment of journalists. No one has been brought to justice for the attack.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 New Photos: Suffering Dolphins in Barataria Bay (3 comments)
Toxic poisons are stalking the dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, and no one is discussing or reporting the fact that the oiled mammals are struggling in the waters near Grand Terre Island.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Dead Dolphin Teeth, BP, PR, and Reality on the Gulf (2 comments)
The decaying head was protruding from new excavation in the beach grasses. Moran said that the stench was so bad that he could not dig into the mound to see if anything else was buried there. After reading the report about mandated toxic waste disposal, it seemed important to document the burial mound.
Monday, June 14, 2010 British Petroleum Rebuffs Better Boom Barrier (4 comments)
The boom material used by British Petroleum to contain the massive river of oil that it flowing into the Gulf of Mexico is not working. So, ask yourself why BP is unwilling to use a product that seems far superior to the bloated, filthy, broken "sausage" absorbent boom that is washing up along miles of sensitive marshlands on the Louisiana Coast.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 Doomed Pelicans: British Petroleum Neglecting Booms in Pelican Rookery (4 comments)
BP's man-made catastrophe requires that reason be applied in an unprecedented ecological disaster. It is time to throw out the rulebooks and do what common sense and compassion dictates.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 How Foreign Aid Is Ruining Haiti's Health Care System (2 comments)
The infant with the withered arm is Haiti. She is struggling in all of her suffering to wave the flies of foreign interference, hubris, and foreign aid feeders away from her face. For all of the "attention" and "aid" offered to Haiti, she has been abandoned as surely as the infant with the damaged arm.
Monday, May 17, 2010 Voices From the Camps in Haiti: "We Don't Know What Will Happen"
Someone needs to figure out where the money is going before there is a total societal breakdown here. What has become "normal" in Haiti is a cancer on the face of civilization.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Fear, Confusion, and Misery in Haiti Four Months Post Earthquake (1 comments)
The passageways were compelling. The writer pressed forward and wondered what would be in the next tent. How bad could this get? There had to be a limit. Then, a hand. A Grandma literally grabbed the writer's hand as she passed by the opening to the woman's tent.
Saturday, May 8, 2010 A Hymn For Nature in Peril on the Gulf Coast
This is a very personal attempt by this writer to explain the beauty of this area. I have been around the world and have never experienced a place of such peace, beauty, and rejuvenation. I can understand why the natural world uses the Gulf Coast as a place of refuge.
Friday, May 7, 2010 River of Oil Impacting People and Wildlife (5 comments)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has closed the Breton National Wildlife Refuge to public entry
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Grassroots Ground Truthing of of Deepwater Oil Impact
Social networking may turn out to be the first line of defense against public relations spin by providing real time gathering of data on the massive river of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from the Transocean/Deepwater Horizon well explosion.
Sunday, May 2, 2010 Ship of State Sinks Along With Truth in Deepwater Horizon Disaster (1 comments)
Folks, the Ship of State sunk along with the Deepwater Horizon. It perished along with the eleven workers who needlessly gave their lives. No one mentions them anymore, either.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 Remembering the Rwandan Genocide Sixteen Years "After" (1 comments)
I almost forgot. How could I forget? My friend and cinematographer Noel Donnellon who has worked in Congo and Rwanda reminded me that my friends in Central Africa were in mourning. They will be in mourning for all of April. But I forgot.
Sunday, April 4, 2010 Naomi Campbell Bails Out of Haiti Fearing Malaria While Infants Remain in Peril
Naomi Campbell has reportedly postponed a planned trip to Haiti following an outbreak of malaria in the earthquake-ravaged country. The only difficulty is that there is no outbreak of malaria in Haiti now, but there are far more dire warnings of increases in infant diarrhea that are being ignored.
Monday, March 29, 2010 Haiti: Public Health Crisis Looming and Where is Media? (3 comments)
The rainy season is about to hit earthquake-ravaged Haiti. The meteorological forecast for next week calls for thunderstorms beginning this Wednesday, lasting at least through the following Tuesday, and Dr. Jim Wilson is worried.
Sunday, March 21, 2010 REPORT FROM HAITI: Time for an NGO Police? (4 comments)
Meet Canadian Doctor Tiffany Keenan, who has almost single-handedly turned the medical relief situation around in one area of Haiti.
Thursday, March 18, 2010 REPORTING FROM HAITI: "All the Resources Are in the Wrong Place" (1 comments)
Haiti remains in dire straits with little of the vast global financial donations getting through to where they are needed. There is panic, great corruption and widespread hunger and disease, despite an algae bloom of NGOs throughout the island nation. Often they are but part of the problem. All this while the rainy season approaches, another catastrophe in the making with hundreds of thousands lacking decent shelter.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 GEORGIANNE NIENABER REPORTS FROM HAITI: Haitian Women: Rea Dol vs. the Republic of NGOs (1 comments)
Take a walk for ten years in Rea Dol's shoes and you might learn something about the imperialist attitude of NGOs in Haiti. You will also learn something about tenacity, hope, and the indomitable spirit of the women of Haiti. Haitians have a term for it -- "Poteau Mitan" -- women are the "central pillars" of society.
Monday, March 15, 2010 GEORGIANNE NIENABER REPORTS FROM HAITI: Haiti Watch: There Are No Loaves and Fishes in This Purgatory
A soft rain has just begun to fall, but it is a terrible event here in Petionville, Haiti. There are 5,000 people with no shelter, food, or sanitation on Highway 1, about an hour from here. Babies are sleeping in dust that is turning to mud alongside mothers with shriveled breasts who are offering the infants paint chips mixed with dirt because they believe it is nutritious.
Sunday, March 14, 2010 GEORGIANNE NIENABER REPORTS FROM HAITI: Haiti's Fayette Villagers Forgotten at Epicenter
Day Three in Haiti began with a planned trip to Leogane, which is always referenced in mainstream media as the epicenter of the epic January 12 magnitude 7.0 earthquake that flattened 90 percent of the town of 120,000, leaving up to 30,000 dead.
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 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.
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.
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.
