Sunday, June 28, 2009


The stand-by brigades are supposed to be Africa's answer to its apparently endless cycle of coups and civil wars. The aim is to provide the African Union with an ability to deploy troops rapidly to an emergency, to stamp out the kind of conflicts that have so disfigured Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Somalia, and the rest. They would be a replacement for the United Nations Peace-Keeping Forces now scattered across Africa, holding fragile states together.

But the African stand-by brigades are critically deficient in two areas: one of these is training."

"Martin Plaut, BBC's Africa editor, Martin Plaut, taking a look at Washington's little discussed military relationship with the African continent.

Nana Akyea's appropriate response:

On the question of training, I prefer that you see this before we open discussions!

Recent Posts and comments:

the article that sparked the controversy:

Obama’s Visit – What’s In It For Us And U.S.?

by Asare Otchere-Darko

Abstract

This article argues that in the excitement surrounding President Obama’s July visit to Ghana, what has been missing is an analysis of what is in it for the United States, an understanding of which is crucial for Ghana if it is to capitalise on the immense opportunity provided by this trip. Highlighting the significance of the deepwater oil find in 2007, the article sets out why Ghana is now the subject of strategic U.S. energy and military interests which, as far as the Obama administration is concerned, has raised the stakes considerably in Ghana–United States relations. As the potential gem in the crown of what Washington terms Africa's ‘New Gulf’, the article highlights how Ghana’s pending oil-rich status will shift the terms of negotiation during the trip. Furthermore, America’s preference for Ghana as the physical location for the U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) headquarters, and its concern not to cede strategic ground to China in this region, mean that in 2009 Ghana has an unprecedented hand of cards to play in this game of international diplomacy. Our task as a nation – and the Government’s task as our representatives - is to make the strategic decisions to ensure that we aren’t simply the honoured recipients of President Obama’s first visit to Africa, but that we come away with more concrete deliverables to help us meet our own strategic goals.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=162541


The US military in Africa - modernghana.com/feature article
May 30, 2009 ... Transcript by Nana Akyea Mensah, the Odikro... Analysis now, and in a few weeks, President Obama will be off to Ghana - on his first visit ...
Nana Akyea Mensah's Corner Nana Akyea Mensah Is On Facebook
Be friends with Nana Akyea Mensah. Nana Akyea Mensah Ghana | Facebook Nana Akyea MensahGhana is on Facebook Facebook gives people the power to share and ...

President Mills, AFRICOM and Obama: An Open letter
Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro. 05-22 10:56. WHY DEMONSTRATE? GG -UK, 05-22 12:27 ... Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro. 05-22 11:44. BECAUSE OF OUR RESOURCES.
Nana Akyea Mensah's Corner
By Nana Akyea Mensah
Nana Akyea Mensah: Apedwa, Akyem Abuakwa, Ghana: "On August 21st, 1943, the king of Akyem Abuakwa state in Ghana, Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, died. With a population of about 250000, it was a rich state whose wealth was based upon cocoa ...
Nana Akyea Mensah's Corner - http://nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com/

Nana Akyeah Mensah's Briefs
Nana Akyea Mensah writes in US Military Base In Ghana in response to a feature article on GhanaWeb by Asare Otchere-Darko, Obama's Visit – What's In It For
Ghana and South Africa to strengthen defence cooperation
Author: Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro. Date: 06-13 05:07. Fellow Countrymen! This is by far a better step in the right direction than the AFRICOM menace
2007 July « Crossed Crocodiles
George Kwashie on Dr. Asamoa-Baah appointed Depu… xcroc on Ghanaians Discuss AFRICOM … Nana Akyea Mensah on Ghanaians Discuss AFRICOM … oswin on rwanda11-08 ...
Nana Akyea Mensah's Corner A BETTER MOVE THAN THE AFRICOM
Nana Akyea Mensah comments on Ghana and South Africa to strengthen defence ... Nana Akyea Mensah: Apedwa Akyem Abuakwa Ghana: On August 21st 1943 the king ...

2006 September « Crossed Crocodiles
Nana Akyea Mensah on Ghanaians Discuss AFRICOM … oswin on rwanda11-08 · xcroc on AFRICOM's Lake Victoria… ruben eberlein on Niger Delta War Crimes Trials …
US Military Base In Ghana
Nana Akyea Mensah, the Odikro, is a political commentator, analyst and a very experienced ghost since 1944! Please you are welcome to my blog for further
Gbeho: US can't force AFRICOM on Ghana | Ghana Live News
By Webmaster
Ambassador Gbeho, as he is popularly called, was speaking on the planned visit of US President Barack Obama to Ghana on July 10 and 11, 2009, and what the visit portends for the nation. Sections of the Ghanaian public have publicly ...
Ghana Live News - http://www.ghana-live.com/


THE GHANAIAN REACTOR ONLINE: Ghanaians Discuss AFRICOM & Obama's Visit
By THE GHANAIAN REACTOR
However, in 2008, during his visit to Ghana he unequivocally denied establishing a military headquarters in Africa.In October of the same year, in response to the Sullivan Foundation questionnaire, Senator Obama maintained that Africom ...
THE GHANAIAN REACTOR ONLINE - http://theghanaianreactor.blogspot.com/



--

Nana Akyea Mensah
http://nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com/

Africom to Continue Under Obama

Africom to Continue Under Obama

Daniel Volman
Global Research
June 27, 2009

With the Obama administration set to oversee significant increases in US security assistance programmes for African countries, Daniel Volman examines the US government’s plans for its military operations on the African continent over the coming financial year. Stressing that the US president is essentially continuing the policies outlined under his predecessor George W. Bush, the author considers the proposed funding increases for initiatives like the Foreign Military Financing programme and the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme. Pointing out that the administration is yet to offer any public explanation of its policy, Volman concludes that it would be a mistake to assume that there will be no US military action if the situation in Somalia deteriorates.



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Friday, June 26, 2009

The US military in Africa

Analysis, BBC World Service
Listen (Duration: 11 minutes)

Availability:

Only a few days left to listen!

Last broadcast on Monday, 23:41 on BBC World Service (see all broadcasts).

Synopsis

In a few weeks, President Obama will be off to Ghana - on his first visit to Africa since taking office. Our Africa editor Martin Plaut looks at Washington's little discussed military relationship with the African continent.

Broadcasts

  1. Mon 22 Jun 2009
    05:41
  2. Mon 22 Jun 2009
    08:50
  3. Mon 22 Jun 2009
    11:41
  4. Mon 22 Jun 2009
    23:41
Transcript by Nana Akyea Mensah, the Odikro...

Analysis now, and in a few weeks, President Obama will be off to Ghana - on his first visit to Africa since taking office. Our Africa editor Martin Plaut looks at Washington's little discussed military relationship with the African continent.

Martin Plaut: There is much excitement in Ghana and speculation in the Ghanaian media that there is more to this visit than meets the eye. Some suggest President Obama might be looking for a base for military operations on the continent for the United States' Africa Command or AFRICOM.

It's a suggestion categorically rejected by its spokesman Vince Crawley:

Vince Crawley: "We absolutely are not seeking bases in Africa right now. We have one base in Djibouti which the United States has had for a number of years. And I have seen the same press reports coming out of Ghana. And the purpose of the Obama trip is to engage with sub-Saharan Africa with a very reliable partner nation, but ... Africa Command has no interest in seeking bases in that region at this time."

Martin Plaut: Announced by President Bush in February 2007, Africom was the result of ten tears of planning to bring together all of America's military assets relating to the continent.

At first there was a suggestion that AFRICOM would have a headquarters in Africa, an idea South Africa vigorously resisted. Henri Boshoff is a military specialist of South Africa's Institute of Strategic Studies in Pretoria:

Henri Boshoff: "South Africa, especially the Defence Minister, Mr. Lekota was very much against it. I think it's the way that it was packaged and announced by AFRICOM. It came as a quite a surprise to the Africans. I think that position is now slightly changing. And I think there is a better understanding but still there is an unease about it"

Martin Plaut: The US was forced to retreat sending its generals on missions to Africa to explain what their plans really were. Daniel Volmann of the School of International Service at the American University in Washington believes President Obama sees a clear role for AFRICOM:

Daniel Volmann: "He sees its primary role as a major instrument for America's prosecution of the global war on terrorism on the African battlefield. But I also think he sees it been useful for a number of other tasks including peace-keeping operations, humanitarian relief, building up the military capabilities of friendly African regimes to act as surrogates or proxies for the United States, as well as to protect US access to oil and other natural resources from Africa."

Martin Plaut: And these aims have been reinforced with cash. President Obama sought substantial increases in military spending on Africa in the budget he submitted to Congress in May this year. And despite Washington denying they have a current interest in obtaining a base in Africa, there are mixed feelings on the continent about the entire project. Knox Chitiyo is the head of the Africa Programme at the Royal United Services Institute here in London:

Knox Chitiyo: We have various thinkings on it. I think civil society is perhaps worried about AFRICOM propping up authoritarian regimes. That's a governance issue and a number of civil society groups are very anti-AFRICOM because of this perception. But I think overall, in terms of purely the security aspect, the militaries in Africa would like to see AFRICOM really participate in the African stand-by brigades which are supposed to be set up by next year"

Martin Plaut: The stand-by brigades are supposed to be Africa's answer to its apparently endless cycle of coups and civil wars. The aim is to provide the African Union with an ability to deploy troops rapidly to an emergency, to stamp out the kind of conflicts that have so disfigured Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Somalia, and the rest. They would be a replacement for the United Nations Peace-Keeping Forces now scattered across Africa, holding fragile states together.

But the African stand-by brigades are critically deficient in two areas: one of these is training. [gun shots from a machine gun in the background] American troops in Chad putting soldiers through their paces:

[Voices of US soldiers:

First Voice: "Yeah, they're gonna get two, they're gonna get three, they're gonna get twenty five rounds per... that's three nights in changes for each round."

Second Voice: "Yes that's right." Gun shots in the background.

Voice: "Community Two, directment, arms sous chargé... ]

(Please Note! transcription problem: not sure at all I understood what they were saying here!)

Martin Plaut: United States have been involved in training African troops for a good many years, but there is another key element that the new stand-by brigades lack: the ability to airlift their forces into the field in times of crises. And this is somewhere that the AFRICOMS's Vince Crawley is happy to assist:

Vince Crawley: Absolutely. It will have to be case by case, of course, but whenever it makes sense, for both sides, we would assist and transport peace-keeping forces or peace-keeping equipment. You know, for example in January, the United States military, African Command, assisted in transporting some heavy equipment from Rwanda to Darfour region of Sudan.

Martin Plaut: But, argues Daniel Volman, it will be wrong to see the United States' role in Africa, as just facilitating what Africa does for itself. Washington may not be seeking a headquarters for Africom for the moment, but it does have real military assets on the African soil, in addition to its small base in Djibouti.

Daniel Volman: The Unites States has also dramatically increased its naval presence off the coast of Africa particularly off the oil-rich coast of Guinea. And in addition, the United States has negotiated base-access agreements with countries all over the African continent to ensure that whenever the United States decides that it needs to deploy its own forces, in combat in Africa, it will have access to bases, anywhere it needs them, around the continent.

Martin Plaut:
One little understood role played the US military in Africa
and America involves the on-going fight against Al Quaida. It is reported that the US gave intelligence information to Ethiopia during its intervention in Somalia. And America is actively involved in helping states across the Sahara fight Al Quaida in the Maghreb. Vince Crawley:

Vince Crawley: We have operation Enduring Freedom Trans-Sahara which is very much involved with the United States working with ten nations in the North
and Trans-Sahara African regions to help with information sharing and with cross-border security, so that neighbours who might not be as warm as they could be, are able to have the confidence to cooperate across borders to pursue enemies and extremists and illegal traffickers of all kinds.

Martin Plaut: The image being put out by AFRICOM, first under President Bush and now under President Obama, is of an organisation working alongside African forces from the deserts of Darfour to the waters of the Gulf of Guinea. But the US has interests of its own, a quarter of all imported oil arriving at American ports, is now shifting from Africa. Something no administration can ignore. And then there are the dangers of engagements with Africa. Daniel Volman believes that in certain circumstances any American President would send troops into Africa.

Daniel Volman: Two main scenarios that one might envision. One of them is enormous chaos in a major oil producing country. I am sure the nightmare scenario for American military planners is the descent of Nigeria into such chaos that it is not even possible to produce oil and to export it from that country.
One other scenario that you can conceive of is attacks on American civilians or even more likely to incite an American response, attacks on American service personnel in Africa because as American military personnel go over there to Africa conduct training exercises and a variety of other activities, they are obviously in danger. and there has been a number of very close calls where American servicemen have come under fire from insurgents in countries like Niger and Mali. And if an American serviceman is killed in Africa, there will be a very, very dramatic response
so I think there would be a lot of pressure on any American President to take military action in response to that.

Martin Plaut: Africa, once a backwater for the United States, is now critical to its future. American energy needs and American investment have combined with concerns by the large and increasingly vocal African-American community, to force Washington to take the continent far more seriously.

President Obama with his roots in African soil is unlikely to resist.

Analysis was written and presented by Martin Plaut. And you are reminded you can hear it again on-line at BBC World Service dot com. And in tomorrow's programme we would be looking in greater detail at the situation in Iran asking whether the authorities are in the position to assert full control. That's Analysis at this time tomorrow. You are listening to the BBC...


--

Nana Akyea Mensah
http://nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com/


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Thursday, June 25, 2009

World News Journal: AFRICOM building research center.

World News Journal: AFRICOM building research center.

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World News Journal: Ghana: What the U.S. Wants.

World News Journal: Ghana: What the U.S. Wants.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Nana Akyea Mensah distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C ß 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this blog for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Monday, June 22, 2009

"The US military in Africa" - BBC World Service, Listen to Analysis today on the BBC World Service!

Listen to Analysis today on the BBC World Service!

In a few weeks, US President Barack Obama will visit Ghana in his first visit to Africa since taking office.

Africa editor Martin Plaut looks at Washington's little-discussed military relationship with the African continent.

Click Here to Listen

Analysis now, and in a few weeks, President Obama will be off to Ghana - on his first visit to Africa since taking office. Our Africa editor Martin Plaut looks at Washington's little discussed military relationship with the African continent.

Martin Plaut: There is much excitement in Ghana and speculation in the Ghanaian media that there is more to this visit than meets the eye. Some suggest President Obama might be looking for a base for military operations on the continent for the United States' Africa Command or AFRICOM.

It is a suggestion categorically rejected by its spokesman Vince Crawley:

Vince Crawley: "We absolutely are not seeking bases in Africa right now. We have one base in Djibouti which the United States has had for a number of years. And I have seen the same press reports coming out of Ghana. And the purpose of the Obama trip is to engage with sub-Saharan Africa with a very reliable partner nation, but ... Africa Command has no interest in seeking bases in that region at this time."

Martin Plaut: Announced by President Bush in February 2007, Africom was the result of ten years of planning to bring together all of America's military assets relating to the continent.

At first there was a suggestion that AFRICOM would have a headquarters in Africa, an idea South Africa vigourously resisted. Henri Boshoff is a military specialist of South Africa's Institute of Strategic Studies in Pretoria:

Henri Boshoff: "South Africa, especially the Defence Minister, Mr. Lekota was very much against it. I think it's the way that it was packaged and announced by AFRICOM. It came as a quite a surprise to the Africans. I think that position is now slightly changing. And I think there is a better understanding but still there is some unease about it"

The US was forced to retreat sending its general on missions to Africa to explain what their plans really were. Daniel Volmann of the School of International Service of the American University in Washington

to be continued!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Nana Akyea Mensah distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C ß 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this blog for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

IT IS ADVISED NOT TO CONSUME THIS DRINK. IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS DRINK!

www.cvcoffee.com/prod_images_blowup/Red_Bull_2.jpg

As a public health safety, please pass on this email to all the contacts in your address book …..and make copies to show to all the people you know…

This drink is SOLD in all the supermarkets IN OUR country… and our children ARE CONSUMING IT ON A TRIAL BASIS… IT can be mortal…

RED BULL was created to stimulate the brains in people who are subjected to great physical force and in “stress coma” and never to be consumed like an innocent drink or soda pop. RED BULL IS the energizer DRINK that is commercialized world-wide with its slogan:

'It increases endurance; awakens the concentration capacity and the speed of reaction, offers more energy and improves the mood. All this can be found in a can of RED BULL, the power drink of the millennium.!

'Red Bull has managed to arrive at almost 100 countries worldwide. The RED BULL logo is targeted at young people and sportsmen, two attractive segments that have been captivated by the stimulus that the drink provides.

It was created by Dietrich Mateschitz, an industrialist of Austrian origin who discovered the drink by chance. It happened during a business trip to Hong Kong, when he was working at a factory that manufactured toothbrushes.

The liquid, based on a formula that contained caffeine and taurine, caused a rage in that country. Imagine the grand success of this drink in Europe where the product still did not exist, besides it was a superb opportunity to become an entrepreneur.


BUT THE TRUTH ABOUT THIS DRINK IS ANOTHER THING:
FRANCE and DENMARK have just prohibited it as a cocktail of death, due to its vitamin components mixed with GLUCURONOLACTONE', a highly dangerous chemical, which was developed by the United States Department of Defense during 60 years to stimulate the moral of the troops based in VIETNAM, which acted like a hallucinogenic drug that calmed the stress of the war.

But their effects in the organism were so devastating, that it was discontinued, because of the high index of cases of migraines, cerebral tumors and diseases of the liver that was evident in the soldiers who consumed it.

And in spite of it, in the can of RED BULL you can still find as one of its components: GLUCURONOLACTONE, categorized medically as a stimulant.

But what it does not say on the can of RED BULL, are the consequences of its consumption, and that has forced us to place a series of WARNINGS:

1. It is dangerous to take it if you do not engage in physical exercise afterwards, since its energizing function accelerates the heart rate and can cause a sudden attack.

2. You run the risk of undergoing a cerebral haemorrhage, because RED BULL contains components that dilute the blood so that the heart utilizes less energy to pump the blood, and thus be able to deliver physical force with less effort being exerted.

3. It is prohibited to mix RED BULL with alcohol, because the mixture turns the drink into a “Deadly Bomb” that attacks the liver directly, causing the affected area never to regenerate anymore.

4. One of the main components of RED BULL is the B12 vitamin, used in medicine to recover patients who are in a coma; from here the hypertension and the state of excitement which is experienced after taking it, as if you were in a drunken state.

5. The regular consumption of RED BULL triggers off symptoms in the form of a series of irreversible nervous and neuronal diseases.

CONCLUSION: It is a drink that should be prohibited in the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America, (and the entire world) as it is already waking up other nations because when it is mixed with alcohol it creates a time bomb for the human body, mainly between innocent adolescents and adults with little experience.

REPORT of. D. KHALET GEBARA, Md, UCLA University, California, the USA

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Nana Akyea Mensah distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C ß 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this blog for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.




Saturday, June 13, 2009

A BETTER MOVE THAN THE AFRICOM !

Nana Akyea Mensah comments on Ghana and South Africa to strengthen defence cooperation, Ghanaweb, General News of Saturday, 13 June 2009.

Click here to see comment: A BETTER MOVE THAN THE AFRICOM !



THIS LAND IS MY LAND!!!

YES, WE CAN !!!




Jacob Zuma sings Umshini Wam


Newly elected President of South Africa and the President of the African National Congress(ANC) in South Africa is known for singing Umshini Wam which means my machine gun. "Ngawathu" means "It is ours!" He had been excoriated several times for singing the song because ANC comrades used to sing the song during the apartheid era when they were fighting the evil apartheid government. As usual, those uncomforatable with it are the incorrible devils of the apartheid regime!

AMANDLA NGAWETHU!

MAATLA KE A RONA!

FORWARD TO FREEDOM IN SOUTH AFRICA!

VICTORY IS CERTAIN!


Video by Livhuwani Mammburu

Friday, June 12, 2009


On AFRICOM and the Benefits Of US Military Bases To The Local Economy...
Friday, June 12, 2009

The Americans have not been shy in establishing a clear economic link alongside their military cooperation Ghana is one of the few African nations mainly those with oil selected for the State Partnership Program to promote greater economic ties with US institutions including the National Guard Expanding this to deepen our cooperation with t ... Read more

US MILITARY BASE IN GHANA: From "Baloney!" To "What's In It For Us"? Part One
Saturday, May 30, 2009

By Nana Akyea Mensah the OdikroA Rejoinder To Feature Article of Monday May Obamas Visit Whats In It For Us And US By Asare OtchereDarkoThe Baloney DeclarationACCRA Ghana CNN February The purpose of this is not to add military bases Bush said I know theres rumors in Ghana ... Read more

Friday, June 5, 2009

Ghanaians Discuss AFRICOM & Obama’s Visit

Source: http://crossedcrocodiles.wordpress.com/
Posted by xcroc under AFRICOM, Africa command, Ghana, Ghana oil, Gulf of Guinea, Obama, foreign policy, recolonize


"This is something that no one among us has the power to do with our sovereignty. It amounts to the attempted robbery of the nation by the force of arms. In a fundamental matter such as this, that has serious implications on our status as an independent nation, that could even mean life or death to Ghanaians, as we have seen in the bombs that continue to fall on marriage ceremonies in Afghanistan, the minimum expectation ought to have been an open democratic national debate and not secretive and conspiratorial manoeuvres."

Nana Akyea Mensah writes in US Military Base In Ghana in response to a feature article on GhanaWeb by Asare Otchere-Darko, Obama’s Visit – What’s In It For Us And U.S.? Otchere-Darko’s article describes and implies that Kufuor did a deal with Bush and General Ward, bringing the Africa Command into Ghana without informing the Ghanaian people. More...

Monday, June 1, 2009

Daniel Estulin's "True Story of the Bilderberg Group" & What They May be Planning Now

Contributed by Stephen Lendman on Mon, 2009-06-01 20:15.

Daniel Estulin's "True Story of the Bilderberg Group" and What They May Be Planning Now - by Stephen Lendman

For over 14 years, Daniel Estulin has investigated and researched the Bilderberg Group's far-reaching influence on business and finance, global politics, war and peace, and control of the world's resources and its money.

His book, "The True Story of the Bilderberg Group," was published in 2005 and is now updated in a new 2009 edition. He states that in 1954, "the most powerful men in the world met for the first time" in Oosterbeek, Netherlands, "debated the future of the world," and decided to meet annually in secret. They called themselves the Bilderberg Group with a membership representing a who's who of world power elites, mostly from America, Canada, and Western Europe with familiar names like David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Lloyd Blankfein, George Soros, Donald Rumsfeld, Rupert Murdoch, other heads of state, influential senators, congressmen and parliamentarians, Pentagon and NATO brass, members of European royalty, selected media figures, and invited others - some quietly by some accounts like Barack Obama and many of his top officials. Read more...

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RESIST AFRICOM

AFRICOM: BUSH'S PLOT AGAINST AFRICA






Join the Campaign!

go to: http://www.resistafricom.org/

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A MESSAGE TO AFRICA! Obama Presidency “An Opportunity for Us to Force Our Voice in the Mainstream of the Decision-Making Process”

My message to Africa is culled from a speech by Harry Belafonte at Peace Ball
Obama Presidency “An Opportunity for Us to Force Our Voice in the Mainstream of the Decision-Making Process.”

Source: DemocarcyNow.Org

AMY GOODMAN: Soon after the inauguration ceremony, President and Laura Bush were flown out by helicopter from the capital to Andrews Air Force Base, where they then flew to Midland, Texas. There, greeted by a crowd, President Bush said, “The presidency was a joyous experience, but as great as it was, nothing compares with Texas at sunset.” He went on to say, “Tonight I have the privilege of saying six words that I have been waiting to say for a while: it is good to be home.”

Last night, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended ten official balls to celebrate the inauguration. More than [eighty] gala events took place across the city. One of them was the Peace Ball. It was sponsored by Busboys and Poets, which is a restaurant, a series of restaurants here in [Washington], that come from the Langston Hughes poem. It was also sponsored by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. There were special appearances by comedian Dick Gregory, author Alice Walker, playwright Eve Ensler and a number of others, along with musical performances by Joan Baez and Michael Franti & Spearhead, and many more.

But the highlight of the night was the special guest host, Harry Belafonte. This is what the legendary singer, actor, humanitarian had to say hours after President Obama was sworn in, becoming the first African American president in US history.

HARRY BELAFONTE: Thank you. I’d like to just take a few moments to, first of all, pay respect [inaudible] men and women who have pulled together to make this evening a reality. I want to thank Andy, whom you’ve just heard, for giving us the resources to be able to afford this moment. I’d also like to thank the Smithsonian Institute and the Postal Museum for giving us the opportunity to access this incredible facility so that we could all come together in a place that is historically connected to communication, to give us an opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with one another, to celebrate the victory that has been achieved, and to once again ground ourselves in the commitment and the belief that for Barack Obama to achieve the success that his administration should achieve, it will be deeply rooted in what we do, we, who are here gathered, and the people of America. It is an opportunity for us to force our voices into the mainstream of the decision-making process.

We have done this before. We have been here before. When John Kennedy was the president of the United States of America, and we had an inaugural ball and all the festivities, this nation was filled with a great sense of hope in the future. And what we understood was that only those who were committed to peace, those who were committed to the civil rights movement, those who were committed to the women’s movement, those who were committed to progressive politics, had a critical role to play, and that was to be the caretakers of truth and the political future of America. John Kennedy came, not fully understanding the measure of that responsibility until we sat with him on numerous occasions to convince him that what we stood for was honorable, was moral and politically correct.

We have to do exactly the same thing with Barack Obama. If he fails, it is because we have failed. And if we succeed, there is no question that he will succeed.

For a long time, the progressive movement has been maligned, denounced, vilified by those who not only stole the power of the people in this nation, but sought to move it eternally into a place of oppression. Well, they’re gone. But for what it is worth, I’d like to counsel you that their absence is a very brief one. At this moment, they are working tenaciously not only to understand what happened, that they should have lost their power, but how to regain it. It is up to us to be proud of who we are, proud of being liberals, proud of being progressives, proud of being gay, proud of being black, proud of being women, proud of being workers, proud of being young, and know that we can shape the future. Each and every one of us has that task.

And as I said in the program—as I wrote in the programs that have been distributed this evening, the last thing Dr. King ever said to me before he was assassinated was when we stood in a room and he reflected on the state of the nation. He looked at the war in Vietnam. He looked at the sluggish economy. He looked at the pain and the anger and the rage that existed in America on the issues of race. And he said rather solemnly, “Harry, I believe we are integrating into a burning house.” And when I asked him what would he have us do, if that be his thought, he said, “We are just going to have to become firemen.”

Each and every one of you here tonight represent the firemen. We have to walk into the flames of right-wing mischief. We have to walk into the flame of opposition. We have take stock of what’s going on in this world and be rooted in the belief and the knowledge that we can change this and that we will change this.

Thanks to every one of you for coming. And I hope we meet with great consistency until this game is the way we want it played. Thank you very much, and good night.

VERNA AVERY-BROWN: Mr. Belafonte, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you on behalf of everyone in this room for your tireless work, your dedication, your deep pockets, your commitment to the cause of peace and justice, for we know that without your contribution, this day might never have happened. Thank you for your service.

HARRY BELAFONTE: I know that we’ve been keeping it a bit of a secret, but I’ve got to tell you, I shouldn’t be thanked. I’m having the greatest time of my life, and I love making mischief. Take care.

AMY GOODMAN: The legendary singer, actor, activist, Harry Belafonte, close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, who would have turned eighty years old this past weekend. And that was Verna Avery-Brown of Pacifica Radio congratulating Harry Belafonte.

More than eighty gala events took place across Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. One of them was the Peace Ball, sponsored by Busboys and Poets and the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. The highlight of the night was special guest host, the legendary singer, actor and humanitarian, Harry Belafonte. We play his full remarks.

Watch the video at DemocracyNow.Org

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