The dreariest month has passed, leaving us waiting for the conclusion of five stories...
Hold `er Newt! Perry self-destructed. Cain's campaign imploded under pressure of allegations about illicit "love affairs". Imagine a politician having skeletons in his closet! Which brings us to Newt Gingrich, the ABR folks' current white-haired boy (literally).
Although Newton is more articulate than previous front-runners, he carries a lot of baggage. Democrats ought to be starting small conflagrations in their shirt-cuffs, rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of his candidacy. Walt's still for Ron Paul.
The Kingston (Canada) honour killing trial spent most of this week hearing from coroners, pathologists, a boyfriend of one of the murdered daughters, and relatives of the family. The last described the family as horrifically dysfunctional, which wasn't really a startling revelation.
A doctor concluded that the women in the car were definitely drowned, but not necessarily in the canal in which the car was found. That seems to open up a defence that someone else must have drowned the women somewhere else.
Next week (Agent 3 says) we're to hear from an expert on Muslim culture. Perhaps the professor will tell us why any degree of tolerance or sympathy should be shown to Muslims who kill their own wives and children.
Laurent Gbagbo, former Dear Leader of Côte d'Ivoire, has been extradited to the International Criminal Court in Hague, where he will be tried for cannabalism. [Is this right? Ed.]
Further north in Africa, the Egyptians have stopped demonstrating long enough to hold an election. Results are expected in a few weeks, or maybe months, Inshallah. Look for a win for the party sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood. Lifetime pct .977.
Lastly... Toronto lamestream media were gratified yesterday by the arrest of a second non-white teenage girl in the Yonge Street stomping massacree. That gave them an excuse to show the video again. More charges and more repeats of the vid are expected. Film at 6.
Showing posts with label Côte d'Ivoire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Côte d'Ivoire. Show all posts
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Going out in a Blaise of glory
The "African disease" has spread, quite suddenly, from Côte d'Ivoire to nearby Burkina Faso, which means "Land of upright men" in the local language. Like Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso is a former colony of France.
Unlike Ivory Coast, the upright men didn't depose their president by way of an election. Instead, Blaise Campaore, who has kept himself in power for nearly 24 years, was sent packing by his own military bodyguards. Why? Because they hadn't been paid their housing allowances.
According to Agence France Presse, M. Compaore fled the capital, Ouagadougou, on Friday morning, after the mutiny among his bodyguards spread through barracks at the presidential compound and other army bases. He is believed to be holed up in his hometown, about 30 km to the north.
Gunfire erupted at the 50-acre presidential compound late Thursday, as troops demanding money began firing their weapons. The shooting came from the barracks of the presidential guard, then spread to other barracks and camps, a military official said.
An AFP journalist reported that the gunfire in the military camps was followed in short order by the customary looting of shops. The home of General Dominique Diendière, Compaore’s chief of staff, was also said to have been ransacked and razed, in that order.
I have always wanted to go to Ouagadougou -- pronounced Wa-ga-doo-goo -- just to be able to call someone and say, "Here I am in Ouagadougou." It rolls off the tongue so nicely. If I ever get there, I intend to leave in a cloud of dust and small stones, not in a blaze of glory.
Unlike Ivory Coast, the upright men didn't depose their president by way of an election. Instead, Blaise Campaore, who has kept himself in power for nearly 24 years, was sent packing by his own military bodyguards. Why? Because they hadn't been paid their housing allowances.
According to Agence France Presse, M. Compaore fled the capital, Ouagadougou, on Friday morning, after the mutiny among his bodyguards spread through barracks at the presidential compound and other army bases. He is believed to be holed up in his hometown, about 30 km to the north.
Gunfire erupted at the 50-acre presidential compound late Thursday, as troops demanding money began firing their weapons. The shooting came from the barracks of the presidential guard, then spread to other barracks and camps, a military official said.
An AFP journalist reported that the gunfire in the military camps was followed in short order by the customary looting of shops. The home of General Dominique Diendière, Compaore’s chief of staff, was also said to have been ransacked and razed, in that order.
I have always wanted to go to Ouagadougou -- pronounced Wa-ga-doo-goo -- just to be able to call someone and say, "Here I am in Ouagadougou." It rolls off the tongue so nicely. If I ever get there, I intend to leave in a cloud of dust and small stones, not in a blaze of glory.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Just dessert?
It's been an up and down weekend for the duly diselected president of Côte d'Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, pictured. [Seems we had the wrong picture last week. Apologies. Ed.]
On Saturday there were reports from the usual unreliable sources that he and his presidential guard had broken out of their basement bunker in one of Abidjan's two presidential palaces, and were counter-attaching forces loyal to president-elect-but-not-installed Alassane Ouattara. Now Reuters has breaking news. The French, having tired already of their little foray into Libya, have turned their attention to their former colony.
French forces "detained" M. Gbagbo in his residence, according to Hervé Cohx, an "advisor" to Ouattara, and are now taking him to the Golf Hotel where he will be served for dinner. [Is this right? Perhaps just "served dinner"? Ed.]
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Still more democracy in dark countries
It's been about 9 weeks since we looked in on Côte d'Ivoire -- Ivory Coast to monolingual anglophones, if you'll forgive the redundancy.When Walt last checked the election results, on January 30th, a chap named Alessane Ouattara had won the presidential election, in spite of the customary violence and fraud. However, the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo (pictured) refused to hand over power. He had been advised, it seemed, by Zimbabwe's first and only president, Comrade Bob Mugabe, that just because you lose an election doesn't mean you have to go.
Fighting ensued, and at the end of January Ouattara's ragtag forces occupied the north (more Muslim) part of the country, including the shiny new capital which was being reclaimed by the jungle following the death of the previous president-for-life. Gabbo's army held the (more Christian) south, including the old capital, Abidjan.
Since then, the forces for democracy (African style) have pushed slowly but relentlessly southward, and this weekend had occupied the greater part of Abidjan. They are being supported by French and "UN forces", since the UN recognizes M. Ouattara. ("Allo, Ouattara! Ça va? Qu'avez-vous fait avec Gbagbo?!")
As of yesterday Gabbo was supposedly holed up in either the old presidential palace or possibly what's left of a 5-star hotel. Even the BBC refers to him as being "in the bunker". He is said to have prepared a special meal for his mistress and to be loading his Luger. Stay tuned.
Note to Ed.: I'm in a bit of a hurry this morning. Can you please check the loser's name? Also try to find a more recent picture.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The compleat failures
Fans of Bob and Ray will remember the story of the Compleat Failure, a hapless man who started his career as bank teller and "progressed downward" until he was reduced to scraping gum off the sidewalk outside the bank, and managed even to get fired from that position.
There are countries like that too, states that start off well enough, then spiral downward in search of rock bottom. Zimbabwe would be a prime example.
This week the Economist features a thoughtful essay on failed states, "Where life is cheap and talk is loose". "States that cannot control their territories, protect their citizens, enter or execute agreements with outsiders, or administer justice," it says, "are a common and worsening phenomenon".
The article has a list of the worst of the worst -- the states with the highest scores on the Failed States Index. Here, with a further comment by yours truly, are the dirtiest dozen black spots.
Country (FSI score*) -- PC problems** -- Non-PC problems***
12. Côte d'Ivoire (101.2) -- post-election deadlock, civil war starting -- African, Muslims vs Christians
11. Haiti (101.6) -- deforestation, destitution, crime -- only African country in the west
10. Pakistan (102.5) -- coups, drugs, illiteracy, terrorism -- Muslim
9. Guinea (105.0) -- destitution, drugs, kleptocracy -- African
8. Central African Republic (106.4) -- desertification, destitution, disease, terrorism -- African
7. Iraq (107.3) -- ruined infrastructure, terrorism -- Muslims vs other Muslims
6. Afghanistan (109.3) -- civil war, drugs, no infrastructure, terrorism -- Muslims vs other Muslims
5. Congo (109.9) -- civil war, massacres, mass rape, looting -- African
4. Zimbabwe (110.2) -- post-election deadlock, economic collapse, kleptocracy, oppression -- African
3. Sudan (111.8) -- illiteracy, tyranny, destitution -- African, Muslims vs Christians
2. Chad (113.3) -- desertification, destitution, next door to Libya -- African, more Muslims
and now... the envelope please...
1. Somalia (114.3) -- anarchy, civil war, piracy -- African, Muslim
I was going to add corruption and incompetence to the list of problems, where applicable, but it applied to every single country on the list and I grew tired of typing the words over and over.
Surely I don't need to point out the commonalities, but just in case... 8 of the failed states (including the worst 5) are in Africa. And we must count Haiti as an African state because almost 100% of its people are of African origin.
7 of 12 are totally or partially Muslim. In Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan, the Muslims fight to dominate the Christians. In places like Iraq, where there are almost no Christians left to persecute, the Muslims fight with each other.
One final point. Almost all of these failed states would also appear on a list of top recipients of western foreign aid. That's how smart our governments are -- not enough sense to stop pouring sand down black, Muslim ratholes.
* Failed states score, out of 120
** Politically correct problems, as listed by the Economist
*** Non-PC problems which everyone knows about but no-one talks about, as listed by Walt.
There are countries like that too, states that start off well enough, then spiral downward in search of rock bottom. Zimbabwe would be a prime example.
This week the Economist features a thoughtful essay on failed states, "Where life is cheap and talk is loose". "States that cannot control their territories, protect their citizens, enter or execute agreements with outsiders, or administer justice," it says, "are a common and worsening phenomenon".
The article has a list of the worst of the worst -- the states with the highest scores on the Failed States Index. Here, with a further comment by yours truly, are the dirtiest dozen black spots.
Country (FSI score*) -- PC problems** -- Non-PC problems***
12. Côte d'Ivoire (101.2) -- post-election deadlock, civil war starting -- African, Muslims vs Christians
11. Haiti (101.6) -- deforestation, destitution, crime -- only African country in the west
10. Pakistan (102.5) -- coups, drugs, illiteracy, terrorism -- Muslim
9. Guinea (105.0) -- destitution, drugs, kleptocracy -- African
8. Central African Republic (106.4) -- desertification, destitution, disease, terrorism -- African
7. Iraq (107.3) -- ruined infrastructure, terrorism -- Muslims vs other Muslims
6. Afghanistan (109.3) -- civil war, drugs, no infrastructure, terrorism -- Muslims vs other Muslims
5. Congo (109.9) -- civil war, massacres, mass rape, looting -- African
4. Zimbabwe (110.2) -- post-election deadlock, economic collapse, kleptocracy, oppression -- African
3. Sudan (111.8) -- illiteracy, tyranny, destitution -- African, Muslims vs Christians
2. Chad (113.3) -- desertification, destitution, next door to Libya -- African, more Muslims
and now... the envelope please...
1. Somalia (114.3) -- anarchy, civil war, piracy -- African, Muslim
I was going to add corruption and incompetence to the list of problems, where applicable, but it applied to every single country on the list and I grew tired of typing the words over and over.
Surely I don't need to point out the commonalities, but just in case... 8 of the failed states (including the worst 5) are in Africa. And we must count Haiti as an African state because almost 100% of its people are of African origin.
7 of 12 are totally or partially Muslim. In Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan, the Muslims fight to dominate the Christians. In places like Iraq, where there are almost no Christians left to persecute, the Muslims fight with each other.
One final point. Almost all of these failed states would also appear on a list of top recipients of western foreign aid. That's how smart our governments are -- not enough sense to stop pouring sand down black, Muslim ratholes.
* Failed states score, out of 120
** Politically correct problems, as listed by the Economist
*** Non-PC problems which everyone knows about but no-one talks about, as listed by Walt.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Democracy in dark countries - Part II
A few days ago there was a presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire, or Ivory Coast as it's known to Anglos who refuse to learn a second language. Time was up for Laurent Gbagbo, who had been president since 2010 and presided over the collapse of the Ivorian economy.
How bad was it? So bad that the African Development Bank moved its headquarters from the old Ivorian capital, Abidjan, to Tunis, which is in the Arab part of Africa. (A previous president had decided to move the capital from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro because it was his home town.) TIA.
The Ivorian constitution allowed M. Gbagbo to succeed himself, provided of course that he was duly elected by the people. So an election was held and -- surprise, surprise -- M. Gbagbo was defeated. At least, someone else got more votes.
M. Gbagbo proved to be a sore loser, and refuses (the present tense is correct) to concede. BBC News Africa calls it "a classic case of an African incumbent refusing to stand down after losing an election".
As I write, I am listening to a report from Abidjan in which commentators are attempting to describe the confusion that arises from living in a country with two capitals and, now, two presidents.
Ivory Coast is in western Africa. All those involved in this farce are African, by which I mean black. But Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast are not the only countries to be subjected to misrule by corrupt and incompetent blacks. See next post.
How bad was it? So bad that the African Development Bank moved its headquarters from the old Ivorian capital, Abidjan, to Tunis, which is in the Arab part of Africa. (A previous president had decided to move the capital from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro because it was his home town.) TIA.
The Ivorian constitution allowed M. Gbagbo to succeed himself, provided of course that he was duly elected by the people. So an election was held and -- surprise, surprise -- M. Gbagbo was defeated. At least, someone else got more votes.
M. Gbagbo proved to be a sore loser, and refuses (the present tense is correct) to concede. BBC News Africa calls it "a classic case of an African incumbent refusing to stand down after losing an election".
As I write, I am listening to a report from Abidjan in which commentators are attempting to describe the confusion that arises from living in a country with two capitals and, now, two presidents.
Ivory Coast is in western Africa. All those involved in this farce are African, by which I mean black. But Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast are not the only countries to be subjected to misrule by corrupt and incompetent blacks. See next post.
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