A Grammar of Pan-Africanism, and its manners of articulation!
Please see also: theodikro.blogspot.com
Comments on the world wide web by The Odikro, Nana Akyea Mensah.
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
Nana AkyeaMensah's Corner Nana AkyeaMensah Is On Facebook Be friends with Nana AkyeaMensah. Nana AkyeaMensah Ghana | Facebook Nana AkyeaMensahGhana is on Facebook Facebook gives people the power to share and ... President Mills, AFRICOM and Obama: An Open letter Nana AkyeaMensah, The Odikro. 05-22 10:56. WHY DEMONSTRATE? GG -UK, 05-22 12:27 ...Nana AkyeaMensah, The Odikro. 05-22 11:44. BECAUSE OF OUR RESOURCES. Nana AkyeaMensah's Corner By Nana AkyeaMensah Nana AkyeaMensah: 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 AkyeaMensah's Corner - http://nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com/Nana Akyeah Mensah's Briefs Nana AkyeaMensah 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 AkyeaMensah, 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 AkyeaMensah on Ghanaians Discuss AFRICOM … oswin on rwanda11-08 ... Nana AkyeaMensah's Corner A BETTER MOVE THAN THE AFRICOM Nana AkyeaMensah comments on Ghana and South Africa to strengthen defence ...Nana AkyeaMensah: Apedwa Akyem Abuakwa Ghana: On August 21st 1943 the king ... 2006 September « Crossed Crocodiles Nana AkyeaMensah 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 AkyeaMensah, 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/
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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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.
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 Chitiyois 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]Americantroops 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'sVince Crawleyishappy 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...
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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.
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.
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!
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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.
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
"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...
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...
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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KOSMOS Energy that has been at the forefront of oil exploration in Ghana has huge commercial interests in Ghana and the wider Afrikan continent. So oil is a main component of the AFRICOM initiative and Obama is in Ghana to safeguard ...
Since the announcement was made earlier this month, some Nigerians, including some at the top of the political hierarchy are furious that Mr Obama's choice of Ghana ahead of Nigeria, a strategic partner to the US and the 'heavy weight' of Africa, ... Select Category, 100 days in office, Abuse of Power, Accountability, Accra Mayor, Activists, AFAG, Africa, AFRICOM, Agriculture, AIDS, Airline, Albinos, Amal Bank, America, AngloGold, Anti-government protest, Armed robbery ... Voices from Ghana - http://ghanavoices.wordpress.com/
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 need for a concerted world approach in dealing with current multi-facetted international crises came to the fore at a recent Foreign Press meeting held by the Foreign Press Centre and AFRICOM in Washington, D. C. on May 12th 2009.
Briefing the Press, Deputy to the Commander of the U.S Africa Command, civil-military activities, Ambassador Mary C. Yates, gave an outline on lessons learned and implications for the future of the Command. She had this to say:
“I’m very, very pleased with what we’re building inside the Command…there are nations in West Africa who really want to work with U.S. Government agencies to help them fight the scourge of the drug trafficking… which has doubled over the past three to four years, to the point where about $2 billion is flowing through West Africa in cocaine trade into Europe.” More....
Ghana News | International | AFRICOM: International crises need ... AFRICOM: International crises need concerted world approach. The need for a concerted world approach in dealing with current multi-facetted international ... www.modernghana.com/print/217554/1/africom-international-crises-need-concerted-world-.html -
General Petraeus Speaks Out: Abuse 'Violated the Geneva Conventions'
Posted by Digby, Hullabaloo at 2:02 PM on May 29, 2009.
The Man Called Petraeus isn't towing the GOP party line. Will they say he betrayed them?
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There will be intense excitement when US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle touchdown in Ghana in July for a two day official visit to the country.
Much will be made about the significance of Obama's first official visit to Afrika as US president, especially the fact that he chose to make Ghana his first destination.
Let us critically analyze this and why in my opinion Obama's visit to Ghana is really about looking after US interests in Ghana particularly the oil.
Let us be quite candid about this, Obama's first visit as US president to Afrika was always going to attract intense media attention not least for the fact that he has an Afrikan father, and for that matter many thought that Kenya would have been his first destination to visit as US president.
The White House's decision to pick Ghana as Obama's first trip to Afrika was deliberate as it was strategic. These folks at the white house do not do things for nothing - they are very meticulous in their preparation and strategic thinking.
It was no accident that Ghana was chosen as Obama's first official trip to Afrika. Why? Well Ghana rightly or wrongly is seen as a beacon of Afrikan democracy; Secondly Ghana was the first 'sub-Saharan' Afrikan country to gain political independence and was at the forefront of the Pan-Afrikan struggle against Western imperialism and domination.
Thirdly Ghana was at the centre of the infamous Trans-Atlantic enslavement of Afrikans and since Obama's visit co-incides with the annual PANAFEST celebrations it is appropriate that Obama come to Ghana.
It has been widely acknowledged and accepted by historians that the majority of Afrikan-Americans are of Ghanaian heritage and specifically belong to the Akan people.
During the 15-16 centuries Ghana was the nerve centre of the Trans-Atlantic enslavement of Afrikan people and this is emphasized by the numerous slave forts that dot the Ghanaian coastline - in which many millions of Ghanaians and Africans were taken to the Americas and the Caribbean.
So this reflects the socio-cultural aspect of Obama's visit where he is expected to visit a fort or two to symbolize this important chapter of Ghanaian and American history.
However the main reason why Obama is in Ghana is to promote and protect US interests in the country.
As I said in an earlier article Obama's victory will mean nothing to Afrika unless US foreign policy towards Afrika changes drastically.
This is the main contention of Obama's visit. Is he coming to enforce US policy in Afrika by securing US interests first or he is going to open a new chapter in US/Afrika policy by being sympathetic to Afrika's cause.
I have serious doubts because Obama was selected, nominated and elected by the US corporate elite who are counting on Obama to safeguard their interests not least oil.
Before we get onto the issue of oil, let us concentrate for a moment on AFRICOM. AFRICOM is an initiative or policy that was conceived by the neo-cons in the Bush administration that knew as far back as 2002 that Afrika particularly West Afrika would become strategically important for the US government.
Why? - This is because the West Afrika sub-region has about 10 countries that produce oil. Some of these countries include Nigeria, Sao Tome, Mauritania, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.
Since the US is the world's biggest user of oil and with demand for oil in it's normally 'safe haven' of the 'middle-east' (North-East Afrika), becoming very precarious, the Bush administration decided that West Afrika provided a safe and reliable source of oil.
However given what has happened in the Niger Delta it thought that precautions had to be taken so the US conceived of AFRICOM which is a military initiative to safeguard American corporate interests in the region.
AFRICOM is already a reality operating from its base in Germany after its original plan to have its headquarters in Afrika was met with unease.
Despite this AFRICOM is a reality and there are already US military basis in Afrika and US military engaging in military exercises with many Afrikan countries including Ghana.
KOSMOS Energy that has been at the forefront of oil exploration in Ghana has huge commercial interests in Ghana and the wider Afrikan continent.
So oil is a main component of the AFRICOM initiative and Obama is in Ghana to safeguard America's corporate interests and NOT the interests of Ghana.
Another point to consider on Obama's visit to Ghana is US-Ghana trade. An example of this imbalance in US-Ghana trade relations is that Ghana once a thriving producer of rice is now through trade polices an importer of rice, most of which comes from the US. By the way the rice lobby in the United States is a huge lobby with enormous clout.
Ghana's once thriving rice industry used to employ thousands of Ghanaians but now due to the importation of rice, many Ghanaians have lost their jobs and in the process giving those jobs to foreigners.
Another aspect of the trade relationship between Ghana and the United States that needs attention is the AGOA accord. AGOA is the African Growth and Opportunities Act. AGOA is an initiative by the US government to give Afrikan countries and their producers the opportunity to have access to the lucrative US market pending certain conditionalities.
Despite many Afrikan countries meeting these conditionalities many have not reaped any benefit of the AGOA act. On the other hand many American companies like Kosmos Energy have enjoyed huge benefits in Afrikan markets.
So while Obama may be viewed in some quarters as a breath of fresh air and even a saviour to Afrika, time will tell if Obama will engage Afrika in a fair and equitable manner.
Source: Public Agenda
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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.
BYLINE: Bob Egelko = COMMENT: E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com. = CREDIT: Chronicle Staff Writer = DATE: 12/01/08 = DATELINE: (11-30) 16:17 PST = DAY: MONDAY = EDITION: 5star = HEADLINE: Obama pledge on treaties a complex undertaking = KEYWORDS: kwpsnbarackobamakwpsn = NAME: Barack Obama = PAGE: A1 = PRINTDATE: 20081201 = PRINTHED: THE PRESIDENCY IN TRANSITION / Treaties seen as key to improving U.S. standing = OBJECT: /c/pictures/2008/11/30/mn-obama30_phb3_0499504593.jpg = CAPTION: In this Nov. 26, 2008 file photo, President-elect Barack Obama listens to a reporter's question during a news conference in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) = SECTION: MN = SIZE: 10085 = SLUG: treaties01 = SUBJECT: FOREIGN RELATIONS: PRESIDENT: AGREEMENTS: POLICY: METRO: OBAMA PLEDGE ON TREATIES ENV: OBAMA PLEDGE ON TREATIES = VERSION: 2.0 = TABLE: flag,id,value,label,data1 = id: comments = data1: /c/a/2008/11/30/MNK414CTFB.DTL = id: omniture = data1: /c/a/2008/11/30/MNK414CTFB.DTL = PAPER: San Francisco Chronicle =
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President-elect Barack Obama's pledge to restore the United States' international standing extends far beyond front-page topics such as closing Guantanamo and banning torture, into areas as diverse as nuclear testing, the rights of women and people with disabilities, and military and commercial activities in the world's oceans.
As a candidate, Obama promised to seek Senate ratification of long-stalled treaties on a nuclear test ban, women's equality and the law of the sea, and to sign a U.N. convention on disability rights. He also vowed to reverse President Bush's policies on global warming and to join negotiations toward a long-term treaty on greenhouse-gas emissions.
The global warming talks, which face a deadline of December 2009, are a rare example of an international accord that has captured public attention, largely because of Bush's opposition to mandatory emissions limits. Most treaties stay below the political radar, with often-complex subject matter, nebulous constituencies and a two-thirds majority requirement that can leave them languishing in the Senate for years.
The American Society of International Law, an association of academics, officials and business leaders, sent questions on treaties to Obama and other presidential candidates during the primaries. Scholars from the organization differed about Obama's prospects for getting treaties ratified, but said they liked his attitude.
Contrast with Bush
"The Obama campaign talked about the international rule of law and human rights, working with our allies, suggesting it will take the treaty process quite a bit more seriously than the Bush administration did," said David Kaye, who heads a human rights program at UCLA Law School and was a State Department attorney for a decade.
Bush has actually won Senate approval of scores of treaties, mostly small-scale agreements on subjects like extradition. He has been more prominent, however, in opposing pacts he sees as overly restrictive of U.S. prerogatives.
Bush opposed the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which former President Bill Clinton signed but never submitted to the Senate. And Bush took the unprecedented step of withdrawing Clinton's presidential signature from the treaty forming the International Criminal Court for war crimes and human rights prosecutions.
Bush has also declared that the Geneva Convention rules on interrogations and trials didn't apply to prisoners at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and secret CIA sites.
Obama promised a different approach.
"Promoting strong international norms helps us advance many interests, including (nuclear) nonproliferation, free and fair trade, a clean environment, and protecting our troops in wartime," he told the international law society. "Because the (Bush) administration cast aside international norms that reflect American values, such as the Geneva Conventions, we are less able to promote those values abroad."
Primary focus
Obama cited three treaties he would concentrate on ratifying: the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Last December, Obama cited a fourth treaty that he said he would sign and ask the Senate to ratify, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Missing from his to-do list, at least so far, are the International Criminal Court - which could subject U.S. officials and military personnel to prosecution - and treaties banning land mines and cluster bombs. All three would face Defense Department resistance, and Obama has said he would consult with military commanders before deciding whether to ask the Senate to ratify the International Criminal Court.
Although the treaties Obama has endorsed may be less controversial, "I don't see any really easy wins on the list," said K. Russell Lamotte, a former State Department attorney now in private practice in Washington, D.C.
Climate pact toughest
Most difficult of all, he said, may be the negotiation and ratification of a post-Kyoto climate change agreement.
Now that a U.S. administration is willing to take part in the talks, Lamotte said, Obama must decide what emissions limits to accept, how to pay for them during a period of economic convulsion, and how to bring key players such as China and India on board - and then present the final product to most of the same senators who killed a modest global-warming bill earlier this year.
"It's a very daunting process," Lamotte said.
Of the unratified treaties on Obama's list, the nuclear test ban agreement is the most substantial and probably the least likely to win ratification. The accord, passed by the U.N. General Assembly in 1996, was defeated by a Republican-controlled Senate in 1999.
The test ban treaty has never taken effect - it requires ratification by the 44 "nuclear-capable" nations - but the United States and most other countries observe voluntary moratoriums on nuclear explosive testing.
The Law of the Sea treaty may face an easier road. The treaty, adopted by the United Nations in 1982, includes protections for nations' coastal waters and guidelines for commercial use of international waters. Military and business leaders, environmental groups and the Bush administration support it, but a bloc of conservative Republicans, citing concerns over U.S. sovereignty, has kept if off the Senate floor.
"This is the one that may be the highest priority," said Duncan Hollis, a Temple University law professor and former State Department treaty lawyer. "It's not often that industry and environmental groups are in favor" of the same treaty.
Women's treaty
The women's-rights treaty is even older - it won U.N. approval in 1979 and was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, but has never reached the Senate floor. Every other industrialized nation has ratified it.
The treaty proclaims a woman's right to equality in all areas of society, including employment and family relations. It does not explicitly address abortion, but says women should have access to "information, counseling and services in family planning," and equal rights to determine "the number and spacing of their children."
That alarms anti-abortion groups. Other conservative opponents have cited pronouncements by the treaty's oversight committee - such as a report that said Mothers' Day in Belarus fostered sex-role stereotypes - as evidence of a radical feminist agenda.
American Society of International Law commentators said such opposition will make Senate passage of the treaty difficult - though they say the accord would have little effect on U.S. law because it requires only that nations take "all appropriate measures" to protect women's rights.
U.S. interpretations
The United States has interpreted other human rights accords to make them consistent with its laws, said Allen Weiner, a former State Department attorney who now teaches international law at Stanford.
"As a domestic law matter, it's utterly symbolic" but nevertheless important, Weiner said of the women's rights treaty. "It's a commitment we're making to an international human rights regime."
Ratification "makes us somewhat more credible" to the rest of the world, Weiner said. As long as the United States is unwilling to join a widely accepted agreement on women's rights, he said, "it's difficult to demand that fundamentalist Islamic societies change their treatment of women."
National security: The team that Obama is introducing today has embraced a shift in resources. A5
International accords on Obama's agenda
Treaties that President-elect Barack Obama has promised to present to the Senate for ratification:
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: Would prohibit all nuclear explosive testing. Takes effect only when ratified by all 44 "nuclear-capable" nations, including the United States. Passed by the U.N. General Assembly in 1996 and signed that year by President Bill Clinton. Rejected by the Senate in 1999.
U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea: Defines nations' rights in managing their coastal zones and sets rules for commercial use of international waters and resources. Passed by the General Assembly in 1982, took effect in 1994. Signed by Clinton in 1994. Approved by Senate Foreign Relations Committee most recently in October 2007, but no floor vote.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: Declares equal rights for women "in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field" and requires nations to take "all appropriate measures" to ensure equality. Passed by the General Assembly in 1979, took effect in 1981. Signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. Approved by Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2002, but no floor vote.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Requires nations to abolish legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against the disabled, and to establish policies that promote independent living and full participation in the community. Passed by the General Assembly in 2006, took effect in May 2008. Not yet signed by the United States.
US MILITARY BASE IN GHANA: From "Baloney!" To "What’s In It For Us"? Part One
by Nana Akyea Mensah, the Odikro...
A Rejoinder To Feature Article of Monday, 25 May 2009 Obama’s Visit – What’s In It For Us And U.S.? By Asare Otchere-Darko
The "Baloney!" Declaration: 'ACCRA, Ghana (CNN) February 20, 2008.
"The purpose of this is not to add military bases," Bush said. "I know there's rumors in Ghana -- 'all Bush is coming to do is try to convince you to put a big military base here.' That's baloney. Or as we say in Texas, that's bull." - Mr. George W. Bush, Jr., (President of United States of America in Accra, Ghana. February 20, 2008.)
The president of Ghana, John Kufuor, said he welcomed Bush's comments.
"I am happy for the president's dispelling any notion that the United States of America is intending to build military bases on the continent of Africa... I believe the explanation the president has given should put paid to the speculation so that the relationship between us and the United States will grow stronger and with mutual respect,"
- Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor, (President of the Republic of Ghana Accra, Ghana. February 20, 2008.)
(Source: CNN, "Bush: Rumors of U.S. bases in Africa are 'baloney'", February 20, 2008 -- Updated 1836 GMT (0236 HKT). CNN's Ed Henry and Tim McCaughan contributed to this report.)
This article is bound to have two parts or more. This is because I feel I am already suppressing my disdain, finding it difficult to believe that we have been lied to over such a serious matter, and refusing to appreciate why Ghanaians should even be called upon to accept a US military bases here simply because it is a done deal! I am sure we shall need to talk about all of that, but first of all, I wish to take some time to express my shock and dismay with all my might of wonder, to learn that what was openly referred to as "Baloney" and nothing to worry about is underway, far advanced, and virtually inevitable! I am very angry that Ghanaians have been lied to so blatantly by their own elected President. Boiling at the autocratic insolence behind the "what's in it for us?" question that Mr. Ochere-Darko is now posing. I am certainly amazed that a matter of fundamental concern to each and every citizen could be cooked up to such an extent without an open and frank national democratic debate whatsoever!
Kwesi Pratt Jnr., The Alarm and the US Embassy Denial
Many Ghanaians were taken aback and did not know whom to believe when the Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr., insisted that he had evidence to support his claims that the US government is planning to set up a military base here in Accra. According Mr. Pratt, the establishment of the base was part of a grand design by the US to control West Africa. Mr. Pratt warned that the establishment of such a base in Ghana was recipe for disaster and called on Ghanaians to stand against it.
Speaking in an interview with Joy News, after the denial of his allegations by the US Embassy Mr Pratt said his claims were contained in a US committee's report written by US Vice President Dick Cheney.
“The evidence we have is in an official report prepared by the US Vice President which is called the Cheney Report. And it is a report commissioned by President Bush himself when he set up the Cheney Committee to review how to meet America's energy requirement up to the year 2015. If the US embassy here is denying it then I don't know what to say,” he said.
The Minister of Defence, Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, also joined the Americans to deny the claims that the US government intends to establish a military base in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale. Dr Addo Kufuor said "the US has no reason to establish a base in West Africa." This was after Mr. Pratt had again mounted a platform at Tamale to denounce the establishment of a base there. Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr, had alleged that the US is planning to establish a base in Tamale. This was contained in an address he delivered to a forum of the Committee for Joint Action in Tamale last Friday, Mr Pratt called on the people to resist any such attempts.
Dr Addo Kufuor who was in Tamale to seek support for his presidential bid, said the claims were baseless. Addressing journalists and some New Patriotic Party (NPP) constituency executives at a dinner in Tamale, Dr Addo Kufuor said the claims were baseless.
"If for any reason the US wants to establish a military base in West Africa it could do so by sending its warship to the West Africa coast." Said Dr Addo Kufuor, as he challenged "Mr Pratt and his CJA cohorts to provide evidence."
Putting "paid to the speculation"
With hindsight, I find our own elected President Kufour's remarks after the "Baloney" Speech"the most treacherous of all. After allaying the fears of Ghanaians the guy simply went ahead to secretly plot with the Americans to speed up their preparations for the base whilst he turned around to tell Ghanaians that:
"I am happy for the president's dispelling any notion that the United States of America is intending to build military bases on the continent of Africa... I believe the explanation the president has given should put paid to the speculation so that the relationship between us and the United States will grow stronger and with mutual respect"!
Ghanaians were not alone in thinking the AFRICOM deal was over. The BBC reported:
"Despite the warm words, Ghana is refusing to host any US facility or base on its territory under Africom, whose creation was announced a year ago. The idea of setting up a military command in Africa is an unpopular idea, and so far only Liberia has said it would host it, says the BBC's Will Ross in Accra. Critics say Africom is designed to protect strategic American interests on the continent such as oil."
(Source; BBC, "US 'is not seeking African bases' " Last Updated: Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 13:38 GMT)
There is little wonder therefore that as at the time of going to the polls on 6th December, 2008, including the run-offs that followed, nothing was mentioned of these plans. Indeed, the President was very right, the Baloney Declaration "put paid to the speculation" over the establishment of the US military bases in Ghana. For most of us with the supposed refusal of President Kufour, publicly confirmed by President George Bush, that was the end of the story.
For example, Abayomi Azikiwe of the Pan-African News Wire wrote:
"Recent Bush administration plans to implement AFRICOM has been met with rejection among various African countries. Two of the largest nations in Africa, Nigeria and South Africa, have refused to allow the American military to set up AFRICOM bases in their respective territories and have come out solidly against any other country allowing such intervention... In a press conference with the American leader, Ghanaian President John Kufuor said he was happy to hear Mr. Bush dispel any notion of new U.S. bases in Africa. So far, only Liberia has publicly expressed an interest in hosting AFRICOM headquarters. President Bush says he is seriously considering that request and will discuss it further with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf during talks in Monrovia Thursday."
(Source: MECAWI Conference: What's Behind the Bush Trip to Africa?: The True Role of US Intervention on the Continent, Saturday, Feb. 23)
Apparently that is not the case. Of course, some of us saw through this as a possible diversionary tactic, which did not stop the next President of the United States from asking the next President of Ghana, the same question, after the elections, whilst the underground preparations continued, far beyond the scrutiny of the media and the Ghanaian public. The only reason why Ghanaians have been kept in the dark until the very last minute is because of narrow, greedy and selfish partisan interests which have no connections with well being of Ghanaians.
It is understandable that the NPP wanted to deceive Ghanaians until after the elections and did not want to complicate Akufo Addo's chances of winning the next elections. Thus the "Baloney!" Declaration was clearly a diversionary tactic to pull a fast one on our eyes. After all, what has George W. Bush, Jr. got to lose if lied a little bit to Ghanaians? Meanwhile the deal must have been that the NPP on its part, was to do its best to win, whilst Nana Akufo Addo must, at all cost be protected from committing himself publicly to a "Yes" or "No" response to the AFRICOM question, until he had successfully doubled the police force, enough to be able to deal scientifically with the majority of Ghanaians who would oppose such a move! The rest of the story, as the ancients say, is history. Suffice it to say that it was a far cry from the "one-touch" victory that had been envisaged. So the plans must have received a major blow. The "What’s In It For Us?" Question: "At the moment the Americans say they are happy to keep the U.S. Africa Command headquarters in Germany, to coordinate all U.S. military and security interests throughout the African continent. But any reasonable assessment must conclude that this can be nothing but a temporary address and arrangement. Ghana should welcome that it is thus the target of America’s desire – and we should make the most of this, using it for our own advantage. After all, the process has already started." "Obama’s Visit – What’s In It For Us And U.S.?" By Asare Otchere-Darko, Feature Article of Monday, 25 May 2009. A fait accompli against our national sovereignty?
The www.phrases.org.uk/ defines "a fait accompli" as "an accomplished fact; an action which is completed before those affected by it are in a position to query or reverse it." 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. I feel greatly incensed by the casual manner Mr. Ochere-Darko breaks this news as though it is simply a matter of business, and not even making any attempt to explain the basis of the conspiracy that he confesses in the article. What does this mean? According to Asare Ochere Darko, even though the NPP government did not allow Ghanaians to have a say in whether or not they want a US military base on our soil, it is too late for the Atta-Mills government to say "No"! In other words, without any national debate, whether we like it or not the process has already been started and they cannot be reversed, so we are as good as being already occupied by a foreign power!
Do we already have the Illuminati among us? Why should some citizens be privy to such a matter that concerns all of us, in which every Ghanaian must be given the right to have a say, and the majority of Ghanaians fed with lies? I think the obvious question that one must ask Mr. Ochere-Darko is "Were we not made to believe that this matter was dead, settled, and beyond the scope of national debate, simply because the whole idea was a described by no less a person to Ghanaians in the presence of our own president as a witness that, "That's baloney. Or as we say in Texas, that's bull."?
Is this supposed to mean that the NPP government was simply throwing dust into our eyes whilst plotting secretly to undermine our national independence and sell us to the Americans? Fortunately for Ghana and Africa, the elections did not go their way. From the article under discussion, it seems to me that with Obama and Atta-Mills in power, the same special interests behind the establishment of the military base in Ghana, the military industrial complex of the USA, are acting as ventriloquists, using their local stooges, to revive their diabolic plot, and rope the two newcomers into the deal. Who else could fit better in the role of selling Ghana to the imperialists more than the very right hand man of Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, the great Asare Ochere-Darko, himself? If you should ask me what it was that worried me most in the article, I believe I would put my finger on the following seven words written by Mr. Ochere-Darko: "After all, the process has already started." Most of us are still dazed by the question. What this man is virtually telling Ghanaians is that for months, the NPP has been secretly plotting with foreign powers to establish military bases on our lands without letting out a word about it to the Ghanaian public. If this does not amount to the greatest conspiracy in the history of Africans, what else is? Slavery? Colonialism? This is an imperialist military occupation we are talking about for heaven's sake! I will not be done until all those found to have been involved in this crime are duly charged with conspiracy to commit subversion, subversion against the sovereignty of Ghana, and the concealment of subversion, aiding and abetting a foreign military power in times of peace.
Really, we can have a long list of charges, but I leave that to the Attorney General's Department!
--
* 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 discussions on this serious matter:
http://nanaakyeamensah.blogspot.com/
This land is your land!
As I went walking on that ribbon of highway I saw above me an endless sky way, I saw below me that golden valley, This land was made for you and me!
This land is your land, this land is my land, From Sham El Sheikh to the Atlantic Ocean, From Madagascar to the Straight of Gibraltar, This land was made for you and me!
I roamed and rambled, And I followed my footsteps, Through the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts, And all around me, a voice was sounding, This land was made for you and me!
In the squares of the city under the shadows of the steeple, At the relief office, I saw my people, As they stood there hungry, I stood there whistling: This land was made for you and for me!
A great high wall there tried to stop me, A great big sign there said: "private property", But on the other side, it didn't say nothing! That side was made for you and me!
This land is your land, this land is my land, From Sham El Sheikh to the Atlantic Ocean, From Madagascar to the Straight of Gibraltar, This land was made for you and me!
Nobody living can ever stop me! As I go walking on freedom's high way! Nobody living can make me turn back! This land was made for you and me!
This land is your land, this land is my land, From Sham El Sheikh to the Atlantic Ocean, From Madagascar to the Straight of Gibraltar, This land was made for you and me!
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