joel marion (dot) blogspot (dot) com

Exploring Canada's Role in the World

2008-03-03T14:01:00.002-06:00

For the last two months I have been working as an intern on a project called "Canada's World." Below is a brief summary of the project.

For more information please contact me at joel(a)canadasworld.ca or visit the website www.canadasworld.ca

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CANADA’S WORLD

INTRODUCTION
Canada’s World is a national citizens’ dialogue on international policy. It is not an organization, but a collaboration of many academic institutions, organizations and individuals who wish to enhance Canada’s international reputation and who seek to articulate and advance a new international policy for Canada – a policy that:

builds on Canadian values, assets and interests;
demonstrates a strong understanding of the complexities of international relations;
acknowledges the different actors involved in Canada’s international relations;
addresses some of the key global challenges;
reflects the diversity of Canadian society and;
is future-oriented, compelling and effective.

RATIONALE
Canada’s World has elaborated a detailed rationale in a longer overview – here
are some of the highlights:

Canada’s profile and position internationally has eroded leaving many confused about Canadian international policy.
The gap between perception and reality of Canada’s place in the world is growing.
International policy is fundamental to every aspect of our daily lives, but few Canadians know or understand much about it.
Former consultations have been led by government, have been narrow in scope and have not embraced the changing nature of Canadian society.
Discussions about international policy are becoming increasingly polarized.
Our perceptions of ourselves as a nation are evolving.
The actors shaping our international policy are shifting and as a consequence the nature of government decision-making is changing.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT CANADA’S WORLD?

Unlike traditional policy reviews and consultations led by government, this initiative is led by citizens and organizations and funded by individuals, businesses, international organizations and foundations who wish to enhance Canada’s international reputation.
The initiative has been designed to bridge dialogue across generations, sectors and ideologies.
Canada’s World uses an “open source” approach to policy development and interactive technology to enhance dialogue (e.g. social networking sites like Facebook, as well as online dialogues and blogs).
Canada’s World recognizes that the demographic make up of Canada has changed. Special efforts are focused on reflecting the views of Canada’s diverse communities.
The dialogue is shaped around the “new realities” that Canada is facing in the international arena.

ACTIVITIES

Research and Development
In the development phase, Canada’s World approached key academic, private and non-profit organizations to join us as collaborators in the initiative. Each collaborating organization has played a role in shaping the Canada’s World programme.

In the fall of 2007, Canada’s World conducted research on the “new realities facing Canada in the international arena”. Research included an online dialogue on Facebook, ten roundtable sessions and interviews with over a hundred Canadians. Based on the research, the Canada’s World Advisory committee selected nine new realities as themes to focus the citizens’ dialogue. Canada’s World will also field a poll of Canadian attitudes towards international policy. The poll will be led by Environics and will build on their 25 years of research in the field.

Website
In January, with the technical and financial support of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Canada’s World will launch a sophisticated website that will include online forums, quizzes and a timeline on Canadian foreign policy. It will be a key communication vehicle for each component of the initiative.

Deliberative Dialogue Process
Canada’s World will organize eight regional dialogues across the country. Thirty Canadians will be randomly selected to participate in each two-day dialogue. Each dialogue will focus on three of the ‘new realities’ that Canada is facing in the international arena. Reports generated following each session will feed into a national virtual dialogue that will take place in the spring of 2008.

Self-organized dialogues
In addition to the deliberative dialogue process, dozens of organizations, business groups and academic institutions will host their own dialogues, kitchen roundtables, events and fora with their members and constituencies. Canada’s World has specifically designed a targeted campaign to reach out to ethnocultural and youth organizations and ensure that they are fully engaged in
the initiative. Canada’s World is also developing materials to help support organizations that would like to run their own dialogue.

In the Fall of 2008, the regional and sector-wide dialogues will culminate in a national dialogue. The outcome of this national event will be a Citizens’ Agenda, as well as a book that will highlight the views expressed during the dialogue process.

Advancing the Citizens’ Policy Agenda
In the last year of the initiative, the focus of Canada’s World will shift from engaging Canadians in the dialogue to communicating the outcomes of the initiative to government, the media and key policy stakeholders with the aim of modernizing our international policy and enhancing Canada’s leadership role internationally.

- HOW DO I GET INVOLVED IN CANADA'S WORLD?
- Read the POLL on how Canadians see our role in the world
- Join the Conversation
- Learn More about your Country and the World
- Volunteer with us
- What is this great conversation?

For more information please contact me at joel(a)canadasworld.ca or visit the website www.canadasworld.ca

Bayamulenge Tutsi Community in Congo Threatened with Genocide

2007-07-12T19:43:00.001-05:00

Five Thousand Tribal Militia Threaten Genocide against Tutsi Bayamulenge in Congo

Washington, DC July 10, 2007… Five thousand armed Interahamwe, tribal Militia (Mai-Mai), and Congolese regular Army are currently encircling Banyamulenge villages located in the high mountains of Sud-Kivu province with the intent of carrying out acts of genocide akin to that of 1996, when they selectively massacred Banyamulenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The most recent massacre against the Banyamulenge people took place in August 2004 in Gatumba.

For the planners of this pending genocide, this period is chosen because of its sensitivity for the Banyamulenge, who are commemorating the 2004 Banyamulenge massacre that occurred in Gatumba.

We call upon United States of America, United Nations, European Union, and Human Right Watch, to stop this planned Genocide. We call for help to stop this genocidal ideology of Kabila, Interahamwe, and general Masunzu. We ask the International Court for Crimes against Humanity to put them on trial for their plans to exterminate the Banyamulenge Community.

The pretext that President Kabila uses to mislead the international Community regarding the presence of these armed groups in and all around Banyamulenge village is to fight less than a hundred Banyamulenge militaries who want to negotiate the conditions to join the regular army because in 1998 all the militaries Banyamulenge who were serving in the regular army in other provinces than North and South Kivu were systematically disarmed and executed. More recently in February 2007, when negotiations were about to be signed, President Kabila gave the orders to Gal Masunzu to attack and kill these skeptical Banyamulenge militaries, increasing their doubt that they would be sent to isolated areas without knowing why their fellows were killed by the regular Army.

These thousands of Interahamwe, Mai-Mai tribal militia, and the Congolese army want to kill the Banyamulenge population under the pretense that they are fighting against a resistant armed Banyamulenge group. According to the population who had the chance to escape, 4 men were already killed resisting Interahamwe, who were destroying their farms and cattle to get food. The Mission of the UN in Congo (MONUC) has demonstrated indifference to this obvious intention of massacring Banyamulenge, and are failing to protect the civilian population.

Today we are informed of the rape of Banyamulenge women by these armed groups, who are sent to our villages without food or shelter by the government. They claim they have received orders to use anything that belongs to the Banyamulenge Community. Among the dire consequences: farms are devastated; people are forced to leave their houses; and cattle are killed. Rape and the fear of rape are preventing Banyamulenge women from getting out from their houses to look for food for themselves and their children. This causes panic and distress for our brothers and sisters who are encircled by the armed groups who carried out the massacres and genocide of few months and a few years ago.

We ask you to please help us spread this emergent news, to save lives, to promote peace building, true love and respect of human rights for every human being in DRC. While there is still a way lets do something, tomorrow may be too late for many lives. Thank you for taking action to save lives.

Podcast Production

2007-06-01T16:52:00.000-05:00

Before I got into it I figured podcast production would be fairly straightforward: record the audio, host it online, make a feed linking to the audio. How hard could that be? Well, after three weeks of grueling audio editing, uploading, formatting, coding, and validating I finally produced my first podcast for the Human Rights and Social Justice Conference at the University of Winnipeg.

On top of building the podcast, I got the opportunity to take advantage of Archive.org, a cool site dedicated to preserving digital history. They were immensely helpful in navigating their labyrinthian site and its mysterious codes, and even created a special collection page for the conference.

So, if you are interested in listening to any of the 27 sessions that took place during the Human Rights and Social Justice Conference at the University of Winnipeg (Feb 23-25, 2007), check it out at http://www.archive.org/details/human_rights_and_social_justice. there is a full index of all the sessions, as well as an XML podcast feed to download everything, for you iTunes junkies. All the sessions are available free of charge.

enjoy!

Habermas must just love this stuff

2007-04-14T17:12:00.001-05:00

check out this story on wired.com
Habermas must just love this stuff. Sounds like the beginnings of a formalized discursive democracy; which leads me to wonder, who's controlling all of this? I worry that by leaving it to site administrators and corporate interest we may sqaunder the potential. Or perhaps our democratic tendencies have matured enough to geniunely decentralize control. I have a sneaking suspicion that we will be lulled by the patina while proprietary rights and marketing once again destroy a potentially productive social space.
this all leads me to want to learn more about copyright, digital rights management, and digital democracy.

Don't read this if you don't want to know how horrible War really is

2007-03-21T14:09:00.000-05:00

Because some of the readers of my blog are here for other reasons I offer a warning:

Don't read this if you don't want to know how horrible War really is.
Don't read this if you can't stomach hearing the kinds of pain and suffering happening every day in the world (in graphic detail).

This is not an appeal. This is not a plea. This is just one of millions of stories that happened to cross my path.

I received this email this morning.

(rough english translation follows)

On 3/21/07, toussaint BANSI wrote:

Bien aimé dans le Seigneur, c’est avec un plein plaisir dont je viens pour vous atteindre afin de vous relater l’état de ma vie dont l’avenir me semble incertaine, je suis orphelin rescapé de guerre, après avoir perdu toute ma famille dont le papa a été calciné et brûlé pour avoir refuser leurs injonctions de faire des relations sexuelles avec ma sœur aînée dont sa fille, la maman tuée de même pour le refus de na pas manger le corps de papa. Une famille de 5 enfants dont nous sommes pour le moment en vie et les responsabilités mes sont confiées, nous avons quittés le village en pied vers le centre ville à une distance de 350 Km avec toute souffrance, dont nous habitons la capitale de la république démocratique du Congo, l’orphelinat qui nous a accueilli n’a pas une structure viable pour des personnes en détresse, les gens meurent le jour au jour sans encadrement, sans soins de santé sans logement ni médicament, sans nourriture. Nous sommes logés par terre, considérés comme de bouchers humains dans cette ville étrangère où nous ne connaissons personnes. Franchement, j’ai pitié de vous relater ce désarroi dont nous traversons. Je suis étudiant et l’orphelinat qui a voulu me supporter ne parvient pas de payer les frais académiques je suis buté aux problèmes multiple d’ordre financier, médicament, nourriture, et consort. Dans cette hypothèse je viens très humblement auprès de vous solliciter une modeste somme de 1000$ (USA) pour notre survie d’abord ; je vous supplie de jeter un regard de bonté sur moi et mes petits frères et sœurs. votre geste ne passera pas inaperçu devant le seigneur et toutes les bénédictions vous seront accordées.
recevez mes sincères remerciements
Toussaint BANSI

République Démocratique du Congo

Ville Kinshasa .

(my rough attempt at translation, with some help from http://ets.freetranslation.com/):

Beloved in the Lord, it is with great pleasure that I come to you to relate the state of my life, the future of which seems uncertain. I am an orphan of war, having lost my whole family. My father was burned and charred for having refused injunctions to have sexual relations with my eldest sister, his daughter. My mother was killed the same for having refused to eat my father's body. We are now a family of five surviving children, the responsibility for which falls upon me. We left our village by foot, travelling 350km to the city with all the attendant suffering, and are now living in the capital, Kinshasa. The orphanage that took us in has no viable shelter for distressed people. People die every day unsupervised, with no health care, no medicine, no food. We are sleeping on the floor, treated inhumanely, in this city in which we know no one. Frankly, I am sad to relate to you this disarray that we are undergoing. I am a student at the orphanage, but they cannot pay my school fees, and I am faced with multiple financial, medical, nutritional, and related problems. It is from this situation that I humbly approach you to ask for a sum of (US)$1000 for our survival. I ask you to look favourably on me and my little brothers and sisters. Your gesture will not pass unnoticed before the lord and all the blessings will be accorded to you.
My sincere thanks.
Toussaint BANSI
Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of Congo

10,000 Days

2007-03-20T17:36:00.000-05:00

In a moment of curious daydreaming (and clearly not doing the studying I had sat down for), I found myself wondering about the name of Tool's album, 10,000 days. How long is that, exactly? I thought to myself. And when will I reach this mysterious milestone?
Well, a quick google search later, and I found a website dedicated to answering exactly this question (something for everyone, eh?!). Turns out on my 10,000th day I will be 27 years, 4 months, and 16 days old... and the date will be September 13, 2008.
...
the irony is perhaps only my own.

2007-03-05T00:11:00.000-06:00

A deep breath... a moment set upon contemplation quickly turns to chaos... another breath, this time much shallower... conscious of the tensions holding it back. The discord between this sensation and 'the unbearable lightness of being' exacerbates my discomfort.

The fact that the majority of the stress finds root in my mind does little to improve my situation, except maybe to propose a new perspective.

A large part of my discomfort rests in the distance between my interests and the knowledge lending to their accomplishment. My history still lacks the weight of fact.

To a point, I know how to overcome this lack of confidence. The inquisitive mind, transforming problems into challenges - refusing barriers - undertakes the process of exposition.

But should our subject accept the potentiality of insurmountable obstacles? Tautological paradoxes aside (ie: problems the answer to which logically imply divergence from the terms of supposition), can the case be made either for or against what might be called 'that which is obscured from the potential to be known or understood'?

Can we 'know' anything?... or can we 'know' everything? The case might be easier made for the latter, than the former.

Regardless, even at the most base level, absent positive conceptions of development, the concept of learning - of experientially and/or logically affected intellectual change - is undeniable.

Whether or not the process can be fruitful (ie: lending to private or publicly valued ends), is another question altogether.

More to the point: does the will to an end and the logical appreciation of the means imply access to said means? Would it be too simple to say that the redundant question of access to means can be reduced to a utilitarian approach to structure?

"He's Just Not That Into Ewe" - Gay Science and Sheep

2007-01-25T11:54:00.000-06:00

When science slams into the uninformed blogger

By John Schwartz

Thursday, January 25, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/25/news/sheep.php

___

I stumbled across this article in my daily perusal of the webs myriad offerings of "news." It's about the backlash against Oregon University researcher, Charles Roselli, who is searching for physiological determinants of homosexuality in male sheep (Rams). Apparently plenty of people have lashed out, with varying degrees of accuracy in their target, against this research. The threat, as opponents see it, is in the implications for human application, particularly genetic selection and the potential for parents to choose whether or not their children are gay.

I found it absolutely fascinating that the arguments against this research rely so heavily on a naturalistic "let nature be" argument, with such a strong defensive stance. Granted, we should be aware of how any research can be manipulated, especially when it threatens the identity of an entire group; but I couldn't get past the determinist manner in which opponents assumed this research would result in a means of "controlling" homosexuality in humans. I was really surprised that no one stood up and said "great! hopefully now we can explain that homosexuality is natural, and exists beyond the human realm."

It seems that, once again, people have failed to make the distinction between nefarious acts like eugenics, and the tools that make them, and various other benign aspects of science, possible. Or maybe I'm reading it wrong, and this is just the door to genetic selection - regardless of "benign" scientific exploration. I tend to prefer a society in which knowledge is open and its application is a matter of political decision-making; though I can't say I'm not guilty of the occasional idealism despite reality.

What's that light?

2007-01-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

what's that light, over there... at the end of the tunnel?

Going over my "academic plan" again today, after having dropped courses last term, and picked up a wicked directed readings this term, I realized that I'm only three more credit hours away from finishing my honours BA! Originally the directed readings was to be three credit hours, but my supervisor decided that there was sufficient material and work that it should be worth twice as much. So now all I need to do is find a spring course worth those extra three hours, and I can graduate fall 2007! *phew.

Of course, this reignites the question that was dogging me a few blog posts back... what the hell am I gonna do with myself. Or more specifically, what the hell can I do with my degree? I suppose I'll start researching international NGOs or low-level positions, and try to find someone willing to take on a green candidate. The alternative, for which I've received a bit of positive encouragement, is to spend the fall preparing my application for grad school(s).

The opportunity may technically have been there for me to try to get in for fall 2007, but the added pressure of getting an application in now (ridiculously close to deadlines), and going straight from spring/summer session into grad school would most certainly give me an aneurysm. And it will be nice to be able to relax a bit more next year. I'm thinking, depending on what kind of work I find, that I might take up another TA position or two (I actually really like it), and spend some time on research that I've been wanting to do for quite some time. Of course, some might say that that's what grad school is for, but I really want to slow down and chase down a few particularities with a level of detail that the high-pressure academic life just doesn't allow.

Hunker down, Joel... Hunker down...

Sabre Rattling Again

2007-01-15T10:48:00.000-06:00

With no signs of let-up in the Iraq war, the American administration is growing uneasy about Iran’s growing intervention. With an already fragile relationship, and a stalemate on nuclear issues, the US and Iran have been staring each other down for some time now.

Last week US soldiers arrested five Iranians in Iraq, accusing them of arming and otherwise supporting the anti-US insurgency there. Now the Americans appear more willing than ever to cross the line with Iran.

Just last week President Bush ordered an additional 21,500 troops to the region, along with the an extra carrier strike group and Patriot anti-missile batteries – “a clear signal that [Bush] is giving himself the option of a military strike to halt Iran's suspected development of nuclear weapons.”

Of course, once you get into a pissing contest with an already bellicose country striving for regional dominance, there is no backing down. The United States doesn’t want to appear soft in dealing with Iran. But once again Bush is painting himself into a corner by referring at least, if not immediately resorting, to a military solution.

The rules of escalation are clear and well known. Iran is feeling more and more threatened, with thousands of American soldiers just over the border, and Bush’s less than subtle language.

Iran is far from innocent in this ordeal. Its insistence on nuclear development (which, if it was purely non-military should not be afraid of IAEA inspections), and manipulation of the Iraq insurgency have served as reciprocally belligerent affronts against the Americans.

In this kind of diplomatically fragile atmosphere, it is what is not being said that matters most. The Americans refusal to rule out crossing the Iranian border, regardless of all the caveats of recognized risk, is a clear sign to the Iranians to prepare for war.

2007-01-12T01:11:00.000-06:00

Straight from the heart
I had imagination between my fingers
determined to get what I thought I knew I thought I wanted

     Can't you see that you're not what I need
     don't you know that despite it you're
     so perfect, remind me to smile
     apologize and rationalize

like catching smoke
I made a mess of what I reached for
couldn't match my ambitions
drew a line and took a step

     Can't you see that you're not what I need
     don't you know that despite it you're
     so perfect, remind me to smile
     apologize and rationalize

I'm unapologetic
save to say that I regret a weak imagination
two shoes and time, I've got my line
I'm moving on

     Can't you see that you're not what I need
     don't you know that despite it you're
     so perfect, remind me to smile
     apologize and rationalize

...

happy holiday?

2006-12-28T17:03:00.000-06:00

Scattered, I’m slowly gathering up all the pieces… my limping health cost me yet again, as the busy christmas season filled with those essential family gatherings, and the requisite shopping, small talk, and overindulgence. Having finished marking exams just before Christmas (posting the grades Christmas morning), I still have a stack of book reports to grade… it seems this “holiday” season won’t be much of a break for me; and just when I could really use it.

This last term was a rough one for me. Coming back from the Congo, I had a lot on my mind – digesting my experience and reporting on it – and foolishly signed up for courses I didn’t really want. Of course, when I got to the research papers I had to admit that I simply was not interested enough to fake my way through their demanding requirements. Still, it took a good three days of deliberation to decide to drop them. Now, fully derailed from the 2007 graduation plan, I’m fighting through an endurance race – and an entirely different set of deliberations.

Having already completed enough university credits to earn my B.A., I’m tempted by the relief of claiming it, and leaving now. At the same time, I feel as though I have only just stepped in to the academic world, and that there is so much more for me to learn. Of course, there is always more to learn, but I feel as though my education is still incomplete. This speaks to the underlying question in all of this: “what are you going to do with your degree”? And what does one do with a double-major in Politics and Conflict Resolution Studies? Everything and nothing, it would seem. With such a broad approach, I simply don’t have the kind of specialization often looked for in professional fields. This speaks to my interest… clearly more academic than functional, at this point… Perhaps the eventual melting of my economic mirage will set me free from this delusion of intellectual freedom…

a Digital Apocalypse

2006-12-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

remember that story you heard once about the student who was writing all his papers when his computer goes to shit with a virus? Guess who just spent the last two days fighting with his computer...
Yesterday morning, about 10:00am I got a warning from my up-until-then trusty AVG Antivirus that I had a trojan. So I do what it tells me, and reboot my computer... and... nothing... Operating System won't start. So I'm freaking out, til finally I say, "okay, fine, I can do a repair-install of XP, and not lose all my data." so I do that... just re-install a new copy of XP over the old one, disconnect the extra hard drive with all my really important stuff on it (mostly music, including all my recordings), and plop down a new copy of XP to get things loaded again. So I get at some of my data, burn it off to DVD, and start it all over from scratch...
So I did a clean install, fearing that whatever killed my system might still be around, and realizing that the overlaid install was messing up bad....
format C: this will erase all data on C:\ do you wish to continue? Y/N
Well, of course not, but what choice have I got?
**WIPE**
*cry*
..and so began my two day venture to re-install and... oh, wait, no something didn't work right, do it again ... to re-install... no, better not use that version of XP, it's buggy, just use the XP Home version you got when you bought your computer... and install... What do you mean it won't recognize my monitor? aaaarrrggg!!
And so along that path I have been to the brink of sanity and back, and feel as if I will teeter on the edge for a little while longer, since XP Home refuses to recognize the disk partitioning system I created on my extra drive! (the one with all my recording and music on it). Yes... not only am I fighting with my computer, but I have to do it with NO MUSIC!!
Oh, and I still have two papers to write, and a pile of exams and book reports to mark. It's enough to drive a man insane. seriously, buy me a drink or something, I need it.

-joel

FW: email from myself...

2006-12-01T14:52:00.000-06:00

weirdest thing happened today. I was forwarded an email that I had written. I wrote it and sent it to a group, someone else forwarded it along, and somehow it made it to another someone who forwarded it to back to me in a different email list.

Don't ever doubt that the internet is making the world smaller.

-joel

the learning never ends

2006-11-21T21:33:00.000-06:00

Oh how paper-writing time is so great for procrastinatory ventures into other forms of learning... like learning how to put music on my website, and then learning how to make it work for everyone!

So, I have a new embedded mp3 player, after many complaints about the last one not working unless you were using firefox (seriously people, I don't know why anyone would use Internet Explorer, it's only the number one reason the internet is considered dangerous. anyways, I'm just saying, you might want to consider it, that's all).

The new player, still tucked (now even more) neatly at the top of the left-hand column, also offers me the possibility of lining up multiple songs in a playlist... (*snickers to self... I'll let you figure out what that means). AND, it will remember where you left off last time you visited, and whether or not you left the song playing or stopped it because your boss was coming around the corner. ah technology, how can you not love it (today)?

-joel

music

2006-11-17T00:08:00.000-06:00

Finally, after much time, I've learned how to embed music files in my web page... well, kind of... for whatever reason, the plugin I found doesn't always work on Internet explorer (just one more reason you should be using Firefox).

I hope you like it. The song curently hosted is a little unfinished instrumental piece I put together, probably while procrastinating doing some studying. It fits with my regular writing style of "this is what I'd like to listen to." Lo and behold, other people like to listen to it too.

I've been playing with a few different instrumentals of a similar sort quite a bit lately. it's probably from all that Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin, and Paco DeLucia stuff I've been listening to.

It's really a guilty pleasure to be able to record at my leasure, and multitrack as much or as little as I want. The ability to lay down a simple, repeating section and be able to play with it over and over (and over) again really has changed the way I play. At the same time, I have to fight the temptation to over-produce a piece, especially before it's even finished! So, as a part of my effortst to "release" the songwriting process, I'm venturing out and sharing this song, another "unfinished thought" on my guitar.

For those of you who already know some of my music, don't worry, I haven't given up on the basic "four chords and pained lyrics" songwriting style just yet, but I have been toying with this new development along side. In a pefect world I'd figure out how to mesh the two together, but for that I would need another guitar player with similar tastes -- something I have yet to find.

Update

2006-11-14T16:45:00.000-06:00

As many readers of my blog are aware, I was trying to return to the Congo two weeks ago for the presidential runoff. Despite a few generous offers, time restraints and other commitments kept me in Canada. Despite this, I have been following the situation daily, including regular email updates from people in Kinshasa. There are also many fairly mainstream news agencies following the story...

At present, we are awaiting the results of the runoff to decide on the Congo's first democratically elected president. As expected, the rhetoric between the two candidates has been less than helpful to the process. Recent accusations from the Bemba camp are that results are being systematically manipulated in favour of Kabila.

This morning I received a piece from a group called "les Patriotes Congolais," calling for the arrest of Kabila, and imposition of Bemba as president, based on a list of shaky and somewhat unprovable accusations. To be certain, this is no red herring. The amount of distrust for Kabila in the capital is tangible in every conversation, and lines most news reports and stories not coming directly out of the president's ring of propaganda media.

Partial results have been released by the Electoral Commission (CEI) in the hopes of preventing the kind of violence that erupted in late August, though it hasn't worked out that way. Last week Bemba's camp made accusations of results being consistantly slanted towards Kabila in comparison with official polling station reports collected on election day.

Though pledging to following the legal appeal process, Bemba has not proven able to control his supporters, nor has he shown any interest or attempt to do so, despite promising after the August violence to abstain from further fighting. Already a handful of people have died from this recent spate of street battles, at least two victims being innocent civilians hit by stray bullets.

The UN is present, along with EUFOR, should things get out of hand, but has left this apparent lack of law and order to the local authorities.

As with any democratic struggle, the question at hand is one of political accountability and responsibility, and ultimately comes down to the ability of the public to trust both political candidates and the process itself. Clearly these qualities are seriously lacking at many levels.

The striking difference at present is that the Kabila camp is keeping quiet. Recent results (though released with warnings not to be used for projection purposes), show Kabila leading with around 60% of the counted ballots. Despite CEI caution, the trend is unmistakeable.

It is also very telling, in light of this, that the Bemba camp is stepping up their offensive, challenging the results, the process, and in the case of "les Patriotes Congolais," challenging the legitimacy of the opponent and the head of the electoral commission, Abbé Malu-Malu.

The Kinshasa ceasefire signed after the August violence is of little comfort. Unless the CEI can adequately and openly address Bemba's claims of vote manipulation, Bemba will not be able to control his supporters, and there will be significantly more bloodshed on the streets of Kinshasa. Moreover, the resulting political climate in the capital city could tarnish the incoming administration to the degree that the capital region simply becomes ungovernable.

As the UN and EUFOR start packing their bags they would be well advised to keep an eye on the power shift as the new government comes to power. Those few days of changes may make all the difference.

Blogwatch: Fukuyama on Democracy Building

2006-11-07T17:05:00.000-06:00

http://the-american-interest.com/contd/?p=572

Why Building Democracy is So Difficult
Posted on October 1st, 2006
by Francis Fukuyama

"While people have focused on the difficulty of building democracy in the Middle East, they should not assume its gains are consolidated elsewhere in the world. Asia was the model for how rising incomes and a growing middle class would support democratic consolidation, but Thailand’s Sept. 19 military coup shows how stable democracy needs more than wealth and a middle class..."

[read the whole article at the American Interest Online]

a quick thank you..

2006-11-05T12:39:00.000-06:00

Many generous thanks to Ms. Wedgewood for helping me with that pesky CSS problem that was making the blog layout mess up on Internet Explorer. Hopefully now everyone can see the page properly. She was also kind enough to contribute to the javascript error we've been getting, but I haven't gotten around to fixing that part yet.
If you are still experiencing problems viewing the page please email me about it with as much detail as possible, and I'll try to get this new layout to work nicely for everyone.
---

In other news... I have a full update coming soon for those of you who have been following my Congo election experience...

thank you for your patience.

-joel

Election Observers Left Holding their Breath

2006-10-25T18:41:00.000-05:00

(this piece was written for an as yet unpublished Menno Simons College newsletter, and is reproduced here in full)

Boarding the first of four planes to get to the Democratic Republic of Congo, it really hit me that I was crossing the line from theory to practice. Through four years of study at the University of Winnipeg and Menno Simons College I had seen the stats, analyzed the paradigms, and tried to wrap my head around the absolute destruction that had wracked the Congo. Even with that knowledge, I felt like a child stepping into the unknown.

In Kinshasa, the sprawling capital, I was overcome by the sense of chaos. My assumptions of order, process, and rules were quickly and unceremoniously trampled by the mad rush of people. The chaos of traffic in the streets was a constant symbolic reminder of exactly how far the country had fallen into disarray. It was not just that the government had fallen apart. The entire system of infrastructure had simply crumbled through years of kleptocracy and neglect.

As we set out to observe round one of the elections, it became clear that this was merely a milestone in an enormous reconstruction project. Imagining the enormity of the job – rebuilding government, the economy, the military, infrastructure, civil society – it was easy to feel unimportant.

One election, after all, does not make a democracy, and democracy does not guarantee rights, or food on the table. But it does provide the framework to build those fundamental needs. It was our hope, as international election observers, that we could help that process move in a positive direction.

Now, with the second and final round of the presidential election on October 29, 2006, there is a sense of nervous anticipation over that process. The potential for post-election violence is high.

Our biggest hope is that our reports on the first election are taken seriously. If the recommendations made by international observers have been effectively implemented, the likelihood of fraud or manipulation will be extremely low.

But with a diminished international presence in the second round due to fears of election violence, it's hard to be optimistic. Whether or not the moderate UN military presence and international attention is sufficient to pressure the runner-up to accept the results is a looming question, leaving us all holding our breath.

* * *

Joel Marion is a student of the University of Winnipeg and Menno Simons College, currently completing his BA in Politics and Conflict Resolution Studies.

Blogsite Reformat

2006-10-24T02:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it took me long enough, but I finally got the page to look the way I wanted. That silly offset where the middle column and right column didn't quite fill the screen were driving me nuts. But the sillier part is that it took something completely different to inspire the adjustments... I was getting ready to grade papers for the class in which I am the TA, and I wanted to look up UNESCO on the web, for whatever reason. Then, as is my custom, I did a bit of wandering around their site. Somehow I ended up on some other site (and no, I have no idea now where I ended up), and they had this great "banner across the top" style, full-page with side columns ... bla, bla, bla... it looked nice, is the point. and it got me thinking, geeze, I keep sending people to my blogsite and I still haven't fixed that stupid column issue... well, now I'm happy. Of course, someone's gonna have to tell me it doesn't work on their platform because their screen is at 400x600 or they're using the opera browser or something like that. Well, if that's your problem then let me know, and while you're at it, read my html, and research how I can make it compatible, because i'm tired of fiddling with code and I need to sleep.

goodnight, and thank you for being bored at my blog entry.

-joel

---{an afterthought: yes, I realize now that it doesn't look right in internet explorer... you should be using firefox anyways... grrr.... I'll fix it later. }--

Thai King Legitimizes Coup

2006-09-22T08:15:00.000-05:00

Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej has formally recognized coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin as the head of a new military governing council. The move effectively legitimizes the coup after former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday accepted his time in power had ended.

For more details:
AFP: "Thai junta wins royal blessing, purges Thaksin allies"
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060922070055.15vhzuud.html

and

BBC: Thai king backs coup leadership
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5369760.stm

Thai generals cement grip, Thaksin urges unity

2006-09-21T12:49:00.000-05:00

Thai generals cement grip, Thaksin urges unity
Agence France Press
21/09/2006 16h43
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060921163101.5b1e6fwr.html

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's ruling generals cemented their grip on power, as ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he would take a break from politics and called for national reconciliation.

Thaksin's announcement from London less than 48 hours after the military seized power in a bloodless coup indicated he now accepted his five years as Thailand's leader were over.

"Event(s) in Thailand during the last two days should not detract from my main aim of national reconciliation," said a statement issued by Thaksin's aides Thursday.

"We hope the new regime will quickly arrange a new general election and continue to uphold the principles of democracy for the future of all Thais," it said. "Dr Thaksin as of now will take a deserved rest."

The developments consolidated the grip of General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and his council of military leaders, who extended their power by banning all political activities until further notice.

[... Read the Rest of the Story...]

Thai Coup Attempt

2006-09-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

Tanks are rolling through Bangkok as the military attempts a coup to overthrow Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who is presently in New York to address the opening of the United Nations General Assembly’s 61st session.

Shinawatra has faced considerable opposition in the past year amid widespread allegations of corruption. Faced with mounting protest he called a snap election in April. Three main opposition parties boycotted the election which was later ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court for failing to elect enough members to fill all the seats in parliament.

The country has been in political limbo since, as Shinawatra prepares for new elections in November.

Shinawatra has declared a state of “serious emergency law” from New York, and stated that things would soon return to normal. Shinawatra has cut short his trip to New York to address the situation.

See the following for more details:

BBC: “Thai PM ‘Overthrown in Army Coup’ ”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5361512.stm

AFP: “Troops Seize Centre of Thai Capital in Apparent Coup”
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060919165132.691ofq9y.html

Reuters: “Thai Army Coup Ousts Government”
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx...

IHT: Tanks Circle Government Offices in Bangkok”
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/19/asia/web.0919thaiCND.php

CNN: “Thai Government Faces Coup Attempt”
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/index.html

Electoral Calendar Confirmed

2006-09-15T20:50:00.001-05:00

The Congolese Supreme Court today overturned an earlier decision ruling the planned 29 October presidential runoff unconstitutional. On Wednesday, the court had ruled that the October election date violated the electoral law requiring a presidential runoff within 15 days of the publication of first round results.

The Supreme Court today accepted an appeal by the Independant Electoral Commission (CEI), citing the impossibility of a 15-day electoral calendar given logistical complications faced in the first round. With this ruling that time period has been extended to 50 days.

With this extension the Supreme Court has accepted the CEI electoral calendar in which the runoff is slated to coincide with provincial elections on 29 October 2006.

------------------ Source in French: ------------------

http://www.cei-rdc.cd/article.php3?id_article=172

Publié le 15 Septembre 2006

La Cour suprême de justice accepte la requête de la CEI

La Cour suprême de justice (CSJ) a déclaré, le vendredi 15 septembre 2006, recevable la requête introduite par la Commission Electorale Indépendante (CEI) en rapport avec la prolongation du délai de 15 jours prévu par l’article 75 de la Constitution. En date du 06 septembre 2006, la CEI avait en effet sollicité auprès de la CSJ la prolongation au 29 octobre 2006 du délai de l’organisation du second tour du scrutin présidentiel pour cas de force majeure tirée notamment des contraintes d’organisation et de logistique dans lesquelles la CEI se trouve. Ces contraintes, selon la requête introduite par la CEI, rendent matériellement impossible l’organisation dudit scrutin dans le délai de 15 jours prévu aux articles 71 de la Constitution et 114 de la loi électorale. La CEI sollicitait en outre le respect pour la campagne électorale du délai de 15 jours qui précède la date du 29 octobre 2006. Après un examen approfondi de la requête, la CSJ a retenu « que les conditions liées à la préparation et à l’impression des bulletins de vote en Afrique du sud, à leur acheminement en RDC qui requiert au moins 56 rotations d’avions gros porteurs et à leur déploiement dans tous les bureaux de vote et de dépouillement du pays, réalisable dans 26 jours au minimum après l’arrivée des matériels électoraux en RDC, sont techniquement irréalisables dans les 15 jours ». A ces conditions la CSJ a ajouté le temps de la confection des listes électorales qui s’échelonne du 30 août au 21 octobre 2006. Ces conditions objectives étant réunies, la CSJ a conclu à la nécessité de la prolongation du délai de 15 jours. Elle a donc autorisé une prolongation de 50 jours, délai dans lequel la CEI, « comme cela lui revient, fixera la date du second tour de l’élection présidentielle », de même que la campagne électorale.

Publication des résultats définitifs du 1er tour de l’élection présidentielle

Avant d’aborder ce dossier, la CSJ a rendus publics les résultats du 1er tour de l’élection présidentielle. Après avoir examiné les 8 requêtes introduites à titre du contentieux électoral, la CSJ a confirmé les résultats publiés par la CEI en date du 20 août 2006. Joseph Kabila et Jean-Pierre Bemba sont ainsi légalement reconnus comme candidats devant concourir pour le 2ème tour de l’élection présidentielle.

------------------ FIN ------------------

Some great borrowed pics

2006-09-07T13:35:00.000-05:00

The following photos come from a great little photo-essay put up by BBC a couple days ago at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/africa_kinshasa_0the_dustbin0/html/1.stm

they used to call it "Kinshasa la plus belle," but now, with all the garbage in the streets they call it "Kinshasa la Poubelle."

(for the non-french, that's "Kinshasa the most beautiful," and "Kinshasa the Trash Can")

Yes, this is the city I lived in for a month.

...

...

...

Financing

2006-09-03T11:01:00.000-05:00

As many of you are aware, my participation in the DRC election observer mission was (as far as financing goes) completely independent. As I was a latecomer to the team (having not heard about it until about a month before departure) I did not have the benefit of the fundrainsing activities that took place earlier in the year. I owe a great debt of gratitute to the Knutsons, the Penners, the Chéniers, (hopefully some more generous family members?), and Ms. Alderson for their generous donations towards my efforts. Those contributions went towards sending Georgette's orphans to school this year, as well as feeding me and covering my in-country travel expenses. I still have a fairly substantial debt to cover, somewhere in the range of $3000, mostly from the cost of airfare. I was able to access the funds thanks to a line of credit which is now happily gathering interest.

I'm hoping that between student loans and maybe a few more generous benefactors I can get this debt burden under control in order to focus on my studies for this, my last year at the University of Winnipeg.

If you're reading this thinking "of all the things in my life that I spend money on, Joel's work in the Congo seems like a particularly valuable cause," please don't hesitate to contact me (jmarion47@gmail.com). No amount is too small to make an impact.

Sure, after the fact I can't motivate people with the thought that "without your money this trip won't be possible" because I made it possible - by borrowing the money from the bank... but now the bank wants the money back, and i'm still hard at work at school.

And what, exactly am I doing in school? well, like I said, this is my last year at the U of W. I'll be finishing my Honours in Politics in order to graduate with a double major in Conflict Resolution Studies and Politics (BA Hons.). Just this last week I was honoured to receive the Lloyd Axworthy Scholarship in Politics for my exceptional academic standing and the work I have been doing in the University community and the DRC. Apparently the administration noticed that I've been hard at work.

I'm praying to find a sponsor to send me back to the DRC for the second round of the Presidential Elections, October 29, 2006. After all, this is where the elections will really make a difference. the overall balance of peace in the country is truly on shaky ground. With a clear divide in the allegiances of the country between the two candidates and their supporters in the east and west, and with so much riding on the outcome of this final leg of the post-conflict transitional process, it is absolutely imperative that the international community do everything in its power to ensure the transparency of the electoral process.

it is absolutely imperative that the international community do everything in its power to ensure the transparency of the electoral process.

So, if you know of any major funding sources, or if you yourself think you can muster some funds to contribute to this truly massive undertaking please contact me. All the support I have been receiving, both financial and moral, have been greatly appreciated. I believe we truly are making a difference towards the greater goal of building peace in this ravaged country.

I am planning on doing some presentations on the election observing, as well as my overall experience in the DRC over the next few months. Keep watching the blog, and I'll post something as soon as it's planned. (and if you want me to email you directly just let me know, I can do that too).

-joel

Photos, finally!

2006-08-31T23:21:00.000-05:00

Finally, I managed to get my photos, and scan a few:

These were the orphans we visited. Mama Georgette is third from the right in the back. All the children are holding books that were bought with our donations. The money will also help all of the kids buy uniforms and go to school for the next year.

This beautiful valley is where Georgette (who also has a degree in engineering) is farming fish (back left), and various vegetables and fruit.

A close-up of a few of the orphans. This is (left to right) little Georgette, Kevin, and Jean-Pi. Georgette and Jean-Pi were all smiles, and really liked playing with me on my short visit.

and finally, the pièce de resistance:

Jean-Pierre Bemba's house on fire right before the election. This is the picture (or related story, at least) that prompted my mother to threaten to cross the ocean to lock me in my room. unfortunately, we were driving as I snapped the shot, and the flames were covered by the smoke. Right after this shot a whole buch of ammunition blew up, and the flames shot up thirty feet in the air. The funy thing was, nobody was running away from all the burning ammunition, they were all heading towards it!

I'll try to scan a few more pictures when I get some free time again.

-joel

An Excerpt from the Journal

2006-08-29T01:18:00.000-05:00

From the morning of July 31, approximately 5:00am, right after leaving the polling station, as we drove through the streets of Kinshasa. The streets were empty. So many buildings were only partly built, or partly demolished, it was hard to tell the progression. Garbage and trashed old cars littered the sides of the road. one or two men huddled around a fire here and there. As often as not there was a fire burning somewhere with no one to claim its warmth, probably a pile of garbage that too had nowhere else to go. The world around me looked broken, destroyed, truly a representation of an unimaginable history.
As we drove along I pulled out my notebook, half aware of what i was doing and scrawled the following:

Returning Home.
Kinshasa at night (asleep)
this is how I imagined the
world would look
after the apocalypse .

...

Safe Return

2006-08-25T18:13:00.000-05:00

To all of you who so lovingly followed us in our journey on the DRC election observer mission, I am happy to report that I arrived safely in Winnipeg last night, after a long few days of re-scheduling missed flights. It cost me an extra couple hundred dolars to re-book one of the flights, but with good connections and a lot of patience and sweet-talking negotiations I was quickly back in the relative safety of downtown winnipeg (!). I did have some trouble trying to leave Kinshasa, as the violence around the release of the provisional election results temporarily paralyzed the city and closed the airport on the day I was to leave. Lukily I had the foresight to move to an area of the city much closer to the airport prior to the results being released, and once the airport was opened a couple days later it was a relatively simple task to get to my plane. Michael, on the other hand, remained where we had been staying in the home of an American former missionary. I spoke to him repeatedly throughout the violent last few days that I spent in the country, and he assured me that he was staying safe. He should be returning to Winnipeg in the first week of September.

I you will permit me a brief commentary on the situation in Kinshasa...

There was a general sense amongst the people I was able to talk to that the kind of violence displayed over the last few days was just a part of politics in the Congo. Many had an unreflective (though altogether understandable) cynicism about the entire process, often questioning the legitimacy of the electoral process, and its overall utility in improving the situation there. There was plenty of rhetoric going around about the election being "stolen" or "rigged" (most likely by "white people" - foreigners), and few felt that their vote was actually contributing to much.

This mentality is a compound of many factors, not the least of which is a long history of dictatorship and colonial rule. The high degree of involvement of international forces, coupled with minimal access to information and knowledge on the transition process and democracy, and crippling levels of illiteracy, result in a population highly susceptible to propaganda and rumors, all of which are manipulated for political motives.

Much of the resignation can be attributed to the political and socio-economic situation in Kinshasa, particularly in its differentiation from the rest of the country. With a high degree of support from the Eastern provinces, incumbent president Joseph Kabila, who originates in the East, is viewed as an unwelcome outsider by many Kinois (people of Kinshasa). His 44% showing in the first of two rounds of voting clearly upset the majority of Kinois (still a minority in the country) who perceive him as representing outside interests (especially those of the US) more than those of the (Kinois) Congolese. In contrast, the Eastern provinces see him as the man who stopped (or at least slowed down) the war, and brought democratic elections to the country. These factors surely played a part in Monday and Tuesday's violence, fueling a population that has, for at least the last decade, only known violence as a means of resolving political problems.

But these outbursts of violence must be seen in a larger context. That context includes over a decade of fighting, almost no legitimate, functioning government, and certainly no government that could be said to be held accountable to its people. As the Congolese people slowly find their footing in this new political landscape, we can expect a few stumbles and missteps along the way. Though we should hardly take them as signs of a collapse in the long-term goal of building a lasting peace and Democracy. I am extremely grateful to all those that made it possible for me to hold their hand for a small step in that journey, and I will continue to support my Congolese brothers and sisters in whatever constructive ways I can.

Keep your eyes on the news, and the occasional commentary on my blog , as well as a new blog I am developing in partnership with a group of Congolese students at <>. This blog is still under construction and is at the moment very preliminary (and in fact does not yet contain any content), but it will eventually be a forum for student commentaries on issues ranging from peace, development, democracy, rights, conflict (and its resolution), poverty, and the Congo in general. If you would like to be updated on the development of this or other related projects please let me know and I'll put you on a list (which I promise will only be emails related strictly to these projects).

Thanks again to all for the kind words of encouragement! In addition to more kind words (and even constructive criticisms), financial contributions are also still welcome, as I now have to figure out how to pay for this effort while still being a student ;).

cheers,

-joel

Crazy Travel

2006-08-24T04:10:00.000-05:00

on an internet Kiosk at Heathrow now, so I apologize for the brevity...
a quick update:
Kinshasa closed down completely Sunday at release of election results. Apparently Candidate JP Bemba's military (MLC) surrouded and sieged electoral commission HQ right prior to release of provisional results. FARDC (Congo military) responded, exchaged fire, at least six dead. MONUC (UN) showed up, rescued electoral commission staff and escorted them to TV station to release reults 3 hrs late. later, President Kabila's presidentia guard besieged Bemba's house with heavy cannon fire and automatic weapons. At leas half a dozen foreign diplomats inside. Later, cease-fire agreed between both men.
Both Kabila and Bemba will continue to a secnd-round elction, Oct 29, as neither gained th 50% needed to avoid a runoff.
All of kinshasa remained CLOSED monday and tuesday as pockets of fighting reported in the streets. Airport closed Tues, so I missed my flight. A later flight Wed, delayed till late in the day. Arrived in Nairobi late, and tried to get on connecting flight to London, but was told it was full. did some pleading,but told to come back tomorrow. Went to the gate anyways and begged for a seat, was told no. Stayed there till the plane was about to leave, then suddenly they found one seat. Ran for the plane, and got on just before they shut the door... the only seat left was in business class - First Class. Oh Yeah, struck gold. Great food, free drinks, and a huge seat that laid back all the way to become a full bed. What a comfortable flight!
I'm in Lndon now, trying to get on a flight to T.O., might catch a corresponding flight back to WPG, and be home by Friday, if I'm lucky. that would mean I started travelling Tues night (WPG time) and will be in transit till Friday. Ouch.
I'm safe and healthy, though, having avoided all the violence (met a woman who got hit in the leg by a stray bullet while in her house!). Be home soon!

-joel

Under the Radar

2006-08-17T05:22:00.000-05:00

Nearing the end of my stay here in Kin, and it's time to disappear for a bit before the trip home. Today I will be having the lesson with Papa Commandant at the National Music School, then I will be going to Georgette's orphanage for a couple days. After that I'll be back with the family that took me in when I first arrived for my last few days. I don't expect to have internet access until I get home, so this may be the last blog entry from Kinshasa.
I was supposed to have my class with Papa Commandant last Saturday, but ended up getting a bit sick (Shhh!, don't tell my mom!), and so we re-scheduled for today. Hopefully, if all goes well, Papa has organized for a few drum builders to come and meet me, and show me their wares. My hope is to pick up a drum today, so wish me luck!
Once I get back I hope to offer up some samples of the journal entries I wrote while here, as a lot of them have pretty interesting and funny stories. It had been my hope to have slightly more regular internet access, but it's been pretty good anyways.
...
Yesterday was the last day of classes for our little seminar, and I made a promise to some of the students that I would help them build a blog for Congolese students to share their voice on the world wide web. I figure I'll squeeze that project in somewhere between naps and the child soldier conference (and work, of course), as I'm getting ready for the next school year. If any of you out there have skills or expertise in this field please let me know, I would be glad to have more volunteers on board to help develop this new project!
...
Well, that's about all for me now, I should finish this entry before the diesel generator dies and takes my blog with it! Cheers all, and wish me well on my trip home!

-joel

Professor Joel

2006-08-15T07:49:00.000-05:00

I told them not to call me that... I told them I'm a student to, but thre is a strong adhesion to custom here, and if you teach someone you must be ecalled professor. "Professor Joel," they say, "the conflict in the Congo is a very comlicated one, how do all these big ideas of conflict resolution apply to us?" ... hmm...
Sitting here, at the end of day five of six, teaching the esential principles of conflict resolution, human rights, and democracy, I try to explain to the estudents that there are no easy answers. What we've tried to uphold throughout this brief seminar is the fact that these idea are just tools, ideas that they might be able to use to better understand the conflict that surrounds them. I don't have all the answers. I don't pretend to know how to fix the Congo's problems. But maybe today I inspired somebody to take a stronger interest in human rights, in participatory democracy, that maybe one day he might do s0mething to change his country in a positive way(I say he because so far we've had only two female students, neither of which stayed for the whole course).
Today I presentd my lecture on "Rights and Democracy, Democracy and Rights." I tried to offer the students an idea of how rights might play a role in their life. Many of them didn't know how directly their new Constitution, adopted only nine months ago, borrows from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And so I gave a few examples of how their constitution borrows the exact wording of the declaration. I explained to them some of the charateristics of democracy, and asked them whether or not they flt that these are present in the Congo today. Of course they're not all here. I hope I stressed the point that democracy is a process, not a tat of affairs; that it need sconstant attntion and nourishment if it is to flourish. And continuing the metaphor that has dominated this fragile election period, I stressed that now, with democracy in its birth, what is needed is a great deal of nourishment and encouragment to help this new child grow into something strong and healthy.
The response has been pretty good. I have to admit, I got a little excited at the end of my lecture as I explained to these students, to my Congolese brothers (and today, one sister), that this new democracy is in their hands, that it's up to them to help it grow. I think I caught in their eyes the realization that the responsibility for the Congo's future lies not only in the hands of those in power, but that the Congolese themselves play an integral role.
I heard more than once a frustrated, yet hopeful comment: "What the Congo needs is more seeminars like this!" ... I agree. But alas, my plane ticket is booked, and no one is (yet) willing to pay for even this short trip, let alone the time it would take to stick around and try to foster more of this kind of learning.
I have been speaking with a few of the student leaders here, and I will be working with them, even after I leave, to develop ideas for the improvement of this fine country. I suggested (not realizing that in doing so I had committed myelf) that I could help set up a blog for some Congolese students to share their ideas online (keep your eyes peeled, it will happen). I am also meeting with some of these same students on Thursday to hear a bit more of their stories, and explor some more ways we can help each other in the future. ... We'll see what that brings!

-joel

Mental Exhaustion, Drumming, and Orphans

2006-08-09T14:56:00.000-05:00

Settling into evening here, and I can't get over how burnt out I feel. I knew it would be challenging, but I didn't think I would be this exhausted. Today was my first of six days as John's assistant and translator for our seminar on conflict resolution here at U.C.-KIN (université Chretien de Kinshasa).

In what I have come to know as "standard Congo time" (due usually to minimal planning and poor transportation), we started our first class about an hour late. But by the end of the class I was thankful for that extra hour. I was even more thankful for John's patient, conscious effort to speak slowly, clearly, and using words that I could easily translate.

Thankfully we had worked for a few hours last night at translating some of the more complex ideas, just as we did again tonight, so that I would already have the key terms. But even with this level of preparation I found myself straining mentally to maintain a decent flow, loud enough voice, coherent pronunciation, and an accurate transmission of the message being taught.

Wow, what an experience. I have to say, I'm glad I've been using my french as much as I have in the last couple of weeks, particularly in translating the somewhat more technical language of elections and election monitoring, in addition to being the quasi-official translator of the Winnipeg group of international observers.

Conversationally I can say that I have improved significantly since leaving Winnipeg... that said, my french is still pretty bad. There's nothing quite like that pained look of desperation on my listener's face when either my pronunciation or choice of words has completely failed to convey anything intelligible. Luckily (as long as they weren't all being excessively polite to their visiting instructor) everyone seems to have understood me today.

Tomorrow we continue the first of two sections, developing some more concepts of interpersonal conflict, which we will finish up on Friday. Next week is when I get my real challence, as I will be teaching a session on my own on human rights. Hardly the expert, I will try to draw on my knowledge to provide at least a basic understanding of a topic far to broad to be covered in a small portion of an even smaller seminar.

...

As for other plans...

I met with the administration of the national music school (just walk in, it's that easy!) who put me in contact with the head of their drumming department, and on Saturday I will be studying traditional drumming under the Congo's top drum instructor, Papa Commandante (!). He assures me that he will help me find a great drum to take home to Canada although (he sounded concerned) it might cost as much as thirty-five dollars. I think I can live with that. So, as I promised myself, I have found not only a drum teacher, but the head of the national music school's drum program to teach me, AND I will soon have my own Congolese drum.

and Finally...

Tying up the end of my trip, I have about five days to myself, or with Michael, after John and his wife Nel leave us, and I've been pondering what to do with this time. Originally I had been planning on finding my way over to Mozambique to visit Jared, but this is seeming more and more difficult, and so less likely (sorry Jared, still trying, though). I have, however, started to work out a plan B.

Last week we met an absolutely amazing woman named Georgette who runs an orphanage with 54 children, with absolutely no outside help. We went down to the orphanage to meet with the children and to see their home, and I fought back the tears from the moment we drove up.

as we left the van we heard the joyous sounds of a gaggle of children singing loudly and cheerfully. Much of it was in Lingala (the local language), but some words we could make out, borrowed from French. Much of what I heard were songs of hope, and faith, and belief in Jesus and his power and such. To hear these hopeful, happy songs coming from these children shook me. To look at them I felt a horrible guilt, as if I'd just stepped in to a World Vision commercial; but instead of some sad-looking celebrity asking for my money, all I saw were happy children singing, and welcoming us to their home.

I commented to Georgette that the children have so much spirit, that it's more than I see in most people anywhere I go. "Oh... Well," she said, "they're usually more energetic, but they haven't eaten today."
(Gulp)
Well... with some of my remaining time I was thinking of volunteering some of my time to help Georgette and the kids, even if it's just as simple as helping them carry water on the half-hour trek they make every day. Maybe I can play with the kids, help with some cooking, or cleaning. I don't really know, but I can't imagine one woman working with 54 children is short on things I can do to help.

We'll see if that pans out. I'll keep you posted.

-joel

Please Read this Article

2006-08-07T12:54:00.000-05:00

Source: AlertNet <http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/reliefresources/11543667341.htm>
Ellen Otzen finds out what Congo's first free election in decades means to people in the resource-rich southeastern province of Katanga.

August 2, 2006

Africa is shaped like a revolver and the trigger is in the Congo, Caribbean anti-colonial writer Frantz Fanon said in the 1950s. There's still some truth in that image, I find out this morning when I hitch a ride with two election observers from neighbouring Tanzania.
...

[Read the Rest of the Article]

A Nation Holds it's Breath

2006-08-07T03:05:00.000-05:00

One week after it's historic elections, the Democratic Republic of Congo nervously awaits the results. A lot is riding on these elections: a nation's hopes and fears for what the future might hold in this war-ravaged country. Up to this point I have been reluctant to talk too much about the elections, partly because of the explosive potential of speculation, and partly because my personal experience is limited to the region I observed. IF you read the article I pasted below about the east-west divisions you have a bit of an idea of the tension growing here. This morning I heard that the CEI(independent electoral commission) might be publishing some partial, provisional results very soon. This worries me, because many people will hold on to these results as gospel, rather than wait for the final total. There is a strong divide between Bemba's people who have strong support in Kinshasa, and Kabila's people, who are stronger in the east. Recent speculation is that these two will make it to the runoff election in October (I think), but We won't know until the full results are announced.
I had a chance to visit a compilation centre, one of the many centralized offices where totals from the region's polling stations are gathered. Wow. what chaos. Or so it seemed. All I saw were stacks and stacks of ballots, papers, reports, garbage, more garbage, and what looked like a whole lot of confusion. At one point I saw what must have been a million ballots thrown into piles against the side of a building. Now of course, it is important to remember that the Congolese do everything outside, so the fact that the ballots were being gathered outside isn't necessarily a problem. And what looked to me like a ridiculously disorganized mess was (apparently) a well organized piling system. As I made my way around the rest of the centre I saw the computers where each voting centre's results were compiled and entered into computers, and then those results were printed, manually verified against the original reports, and then compiled into a regional tally sheet. The reports themselves, covering polling station stats, vote allocation, results and the like, were put into about seven or eight black envelopes per polling station. I entered on of the warehouses at the compilation centre and saw a sea of black envelopes all over the floor, and was completely overcome by shock. I stood there in awe of the grandeur of the task, very thankful that I personally did not have to sort out this mess. But, in true Congolese style, not even an hour later I came back to the same warehouse to find that the majority of the pile had been neatly organized into groups, sorted, and sent to the appropriate offices in the centre.
This experience showed me just how dedicated these elections officials are to this process. No matter how big the task they all seem to just dig in, and work away at it bit by bit. It reminds me of election night, when everyone was litterally falling asleep (I watched one counter's head drop onto his arms between counted ballots), yet everyone picked themselves up and trudges on. and so this process continues, despite the odds, despite the naysayers and spoilers, with a whole lot of hope that the future will be different, that the Congolese will have their own government some day real soon. Then the real work begins -- rebuilding this destroyed country.

Ah, the Smell of Burning Garbage in the Morning

2006-08-05T11:52:00.000-05:00

If there's one comparison I make the most often between the Congo and Thailand it's the garbage. More specifically, it's the smell of burning garbage that hangs in the air, morning noon and night. I've been told this is a common smell for many developing countries with no means of garbage removal - what else can you do but burn it? And so, thick in the air hangs this smoke that varies from a leafy bad-cigarette smell to a nauseating toxic plastics smell, depending on the day. And what a way to wake up in the morning to that dense smog made up of this and the result of eight million people living and driving in a city with no regulations whatsoever on vehicular emissions (just imagine what it's like to get stuck in a six-block long traffic jam behing a five-ton diesel truck with no muffler and an oil leak in the engine -- mmm, I think one just drove by my window). I've decided that were it not for the cost of cigarettes in Canada I might as well start smoking when I get home, just to balance out my daily intake of toxins in Kinshasa. And Hey, maybe I should start smoking here -- at least I'd get my poisons through a filter!

Congo election shows worrying East-West divide

2006-08-05T02:29:00.000-05:00

Congo election shows worrying East-West divide

By David Lewis
Reuters
Friday, August 4, 2006; 11:35 AM

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Far from unifying the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, Sunday's historic elections have highlighted the deep division between the east and west of the vast former Belgian colony.

The July 30th polls were meant to heal wounds after a brutal 1998-2003 war which tore apart Congo's aging infrastructure and killed four million people, mostly from hunger and disease.

Results are still weeks away but indicators point to a landslide victory for President Joseph Kabila in his native Swahili-speaking east while former rebel and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba is ahead in the west, where Lingala is spoken.

"The DR Congo Cut In Two" read a headline in Le Phare, a Kinshasa daily.

Diplomats and analysts warned the trend could encourage politicians to exploit ethnic differences and make the central African state ungovernable for whoever wins the presidency.

"There is nothing that new in this phenomenon. What has happened is that the election has crystallized and quantified this divide," said Bob Kabamba, a Congolese politics professor.

"The fear I have is that it could undermine the legitimacy of whoever wins. People will either say 'he is a president for the East' or 'he is a president for the West'."

Power shifts in the turbulent mineral-rich country's history can be charted along ethnic and linguistic lines.

Belgian colonial administrators ensured Lingala, from the west, became the language of power and the army. The trend continued under the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who came from the northwestern province of Equateur.

But the tables were turned when Laurent Kabila, Joseph's father, marched across the former Zaire from the east, accompanied by a band of Swahili-speaking child soldiers who helped him overthrow Mobutu in 1997.

BRANDED A "FOREIGNER"

The current Kabila -- who came to power when his father was shot dead in 2001 -- remains favorite to win the elections even though he has struggled to win the support of the Lingala-speaking capital, where many see him is a foreigner.

During his final campaign rally, Kabila spoke through an interpreter. Bemba, on the other hand, has campaigned strongly on nationalistic lines, calling himself the "son of the nation."

If neither candidate wins more than fifty percent of the vote, there will be a run-off on October 29.

With so much at stake, analysts warn of problems ahead if that occurs. Already in the first round, debates often centered on ethnic and nationalist issues rather than policies.

"A second round, if it is fought along these lines, would be even dirtier and more divisive for the country," said Jason Stearns, analyst at the International Crisis Group think-tank.

Diplomats, meanwhile, express hope parliamentary elections, also held on Sunday, will help provide a balance of powers between the east and the west.

Despite threats of violence in the east and riots in the capital, polling day went relatively well. The days following the polls, however, have been marked by complaints and embittered threats of challenges to the results.

Ahead of the ballot, the EU deployed some 1,000 soldiers to support the U.N.'s 17,000 blue helmets already in the country.

But many have seen this as an attempt to ensure the international community gets the result it wants from an election that has cost it over $450 million. Two of Kabila's closest rivals have accused foreign powers of being partial.

"If Kabila wins, I see a lot of noise and a lot of people will try and weaken his power, but that is part of the process," one Western diplomat told Reuters.

© 2006 Reuters

A Good article on the Democratic Transition

2006-08-04T15:05:00.000-05:00

"Struggle for a Functioning Congo"
Jason Stearns and Michela Wrong

4 August 2006
Financial Times

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4315

Beginning Phase Two

2006-08-04T02:59:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note this morning, as I prepare to go out for the day. As of yesterday we've started working on the second phase of my Congo experience: teaching at the Christian University of Kinshasa (Université Chrètien du Kinshasa, or UCKIN;). John, Michael and I have been working out a syllabus for our short seminar, and this morning we'll be sorting out the final details of exactly what we'll be teaching. One of my biggest tasks is to take all the material we'll be covering (quite a bit, for such a short course), and translating it all into French. See, somehow I decided it would be a good idea not only to teach Conflict Resolution with John, but to be his translator, too. So, I have to try to link all the material to my limited vocabulary, then try to adapt it all to Congolese cultural context. We'll be teaching interpersonal conflict stuff next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, then the following Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we'll be covering Global Conflict. Michael has agreed to assist with some English as a second (or third or fourth) language courses, as well as teaching a couple short classes on Children and War, and Refugees and War.
...
My ride has just arrived, so it is now time to meet the administration of UCKIN... wish me luck.
-joel

an encounter with Kinshasa police

2006-08-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

As seems common in Kinshasa, you never really know what's going to happen next until it starts happening... This morning I learned that a friend of mine (who shall remain anonymous), was going to Gombe Cemetary to visit a group of homeless sex trade workers to hear their story and offer them some encouragement, maybe some hope. After that the plan was to visit the Grand Marché, "that place that everyone has to see before leaving Kinshasa," and some bird sanctuary which was also apparently an amazing sight.

We started at Gombe Cemetary where my friend decided it would be best if she went in alone so my male presence wouldn't change the dynamic of her conversation with the women. She quickly returned, telling me that a group of men started following her as soon as she went into the cemetary, and she wanted her "husband" (a convenient lie) to protect her. We went into the middle of an amazing labyrinth of tombs and graves of all shapes and sizes squished together in the closest of quarters -- equally crowded in death as the life they must have lived in the overpopulated Kinshasa. There we found a couple of women working, cleaning grave sites. They informed us that the local police had scared the women out of the cemetary last year, and that they had moved just outside of the site; we could be shown where they are if we offer some "assistance" to our guides. Thanks but no thanks, came the reply, we're here to talk earnestly with these women, not pay our way around a cemetary, we'll be leaving now. As with most bartering in Kin, we got our directions, and our guide was quietly slipped a few hundred francs (maybe 50 cents) outside of the view of his cohorts.

Just beyond the wall to the east of the cemetary we found a group of women cooking and doing laundry along the side of the road. My friend made her way over to them, and I stood back a bit and watched. They talked, and gathered, and seemed to be having a decent conversation when I noticed a couple of soldiers walking down the street. Now this is not abnormal in Kinshasa. Soldiers and police regularly stroll about carrying AK-47s and Uzis, so I didn't worry too much. sure enough they turned the corner and let us be. Then one of my new friends informed me that there was a plainclothes general standing under a tree watching us. I carefully watched back.

As I soon garnered a small collection of new friends, curious what this "white" is doing in their neighbourhood, I found myself making a genuine connection to these men and boys. "please don't think all white people are here to rig your elections and steal your country's resources," I told them. "I'm just an independant student who wanted to contribute to your elections process. Oh, and I'm Canadian, not American. I hope that helped.

As our two conversations went on we heard a man approaching from within the cemetary, yelling something in Lingala (the local dominant language, moreso than French), via megaphone. With some horrible translation from my new friends I got the sense we weren't welcome anymore. Corralling my colleauge we started to leave, but he was between us and the end of the street we needed to exit. "where are your papers?" he asked. "you want our passports? Why, have we done something wrong?" Well, according to this particuar policeman we needed permission to talk to people on the street. Now, whether this was because they were homeless sex trade workers, because they had already been kicked out of his cemetary, or because he felt like trying his hand at a little mid-morning extortion, I can't be sure. But we had broken his rule, and he wasn't happy. Thanks to the glorious cell phone revolution (which has completely swept Kinshasa) she was already dialling the Canadian embassy and asking the police oficer's name as she calmly handed him her passport. Voices got louder, and what had been only a partial, weakly translated disagreement quickly turned into an unproductive three language shouting match. Not particularly impressed with the way things were going I offered a half-hearted apology to the police officer (I don't think he could sense my cynicism): we didn't know we needed permission to talk to people on the street. I offered that perhaps we could discuss this paperwork he wanted us to fill out (place your bets, do you think the paperwork actually existed?), or maybe we should just leave. Clearly outnumbered by the solidarity of our new friends and a creative argument that he evidently did not expect, the officer backed down. In a classical authoritative style he built up his escape-plan opportunity to save face; not one to pass up an opening, however subtly presented, I accepted his invitation to return to our car to get "the rest of our paperwork." After an incongruous handshake of thanks (everybody shakes hands for absolutely everything here), we left without acknowledging the fact that everyone knew we weren't coming back.

Now maybe it's just me, but I was totally fine with this encounter. I didn't really feel like there was any major risk of the situation escalating, and the police officer didn't really seem convinced of his own approach. See, everything in Kinshasa is a negotiation. If you want to buy something you barter. If you want to drive through a crowded major intersection you yell to the traffic cop to give you a break (oh yeah, no traffice lights in a city of 8 million. Have I mentionned that the streets of Kinshasa are chaos?).

Even yesterday a soldier was lounging next to the little street vendor stall where I bought minutes for my supervisor's cell phone; Buy me some cigarettes," he said, cradling his AK. "pardon me?" ... "Buy me a cigarette." "smoking's bad for your health," I said, laughing. He laughed back. I walked away. It was the same story last night outside the rooftop purple bar when a man with an AK47 asked me to buy him a drink. Now don't think I'm a total fool, I know when I'm being asked and when I'm being told. But when the guy is relaxed, his gun is loosly draped across his arms, and his request comes across as more of a plea than a demand, I realize our interaction has more to do with poverty than power.

It seems to me that so many people enter these types of encounters with a preconceived notion of how things are going to go, and who these "crazy gunmen" really are. They seem to forget that behind the uniform and the weapon is a human being struggling to survive the staggering conditions of a crippled city. If you want a fight you'll get a fight. But when I'm his brother, just trying to understand this hell as much as he is, there's really no point in getting violent. Of course, I'm still doing my best to stay out of trouble. I won't be visiting Gombe Cemetary any more, but I will be looking all those soldiers in the eye and praying that they understand that I see a human behind those eyes.

DRC Living up to its Name

2006-08-01T16:58:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday I had the honour of bearing witness to the historical birth of the new truly Democratic Republic of Congo. After a 46 year struggle with dictatorship, povery, and war, the Congolese people finally claimed the chance to shape their own future. Although our team of observers noted numerous iregularities and difficulties in the process, these were clearly understood to be growing pains more so than fraud or manipulation. I should carefully premise my comments with the clause that I speak only for myself and not on behalf of the institution that invited me. It is especially important to keep in mind that I only observed 33 polling stations out of more than 49,000 all over this vast country. Truly, a full evaluation of this election should come from the whole of the observer community, and should be held in a conscious recognition of the complicating factors at play.

This was not an easy election to pull off. In a country roughly the size of Western Europe, with less than 200 kilometers of paved roads (most of them in Kinshasa), over 25 Million registered voters, 33 Presidential Candidates, 9,709 Legislative candidates, and 46 years without an election, this accomplishment is truly a piece of history. From what I understand this is the most complicted electoral assistance mission the UN has ever undertaken. The ballots were the largest electoral ballots in history. In the district I observed (Limete), the Legislative ballot had 851 candidates on it, spread over SIX (6) MASSIVE PAGES!! Try to imagine what the vote count was like...

We started the day at 4:00am with a light breakfast, and by 5:00 were at our headquarters where we divided off into communities with our supervisors and drivers. Though I was told that I would be teamed up with three Congolese National observers I never actually met them (if they ever even existed). My supervisor/driver took me to the voting centre in what can only be described as the worst vehicle in the world that by the grace of God alone somehow managed to get us through the treacherous maze of gigantic potholes and unmarked streets that is Kinshasa. As an illustration, the vehicle sounded like it made up its own prayers when it tried (and tried, and tried) to start, and the windshield had long ago been smashed, but was held together still by enough tape to keep it from caving in on me.

I arrived at the polling centre just after 6:30am, and none of the 33 polling stations therein had opened yet. I did a quick survey of the stations until one really caught my eye. As I peeked my head into one of the stations, the "president" (one of the five electoral officials' titles) had her hand in the ballot box, and was holding two or three ballots. The look of panic on her faced was matched only by her quick comment: "Oh! We (the polling station staff) just voted, we were just, uh, closing the ballot boxes." Uh, huh... I settled myself in to a nice seat by the window for an interesting day.

Ever the student that I am I spent the whole day carefully noting every major and minor event that took place. One of the most striking images that will stick with me for a long time was that of an elderly man, likely in his seventies, who proceeded through the polling station with the most composure and dignity I have ever seen deliberately applied. You could tell by his posture and his gait that this man was immensely proud of finally getting to vote for his country's government. As he approached the ballot box to drop the massive folded stack of ballot paper I noticed that his hand was quivering uncontrollably. I can only imagine what must have been going through this man's mind as he finally had a chance to participate in his and his children's future.

There were plenty of little vignettes like that that kept me reminded throughout the election day that what I was witnessing was something entirely new for the people here. It didn't matter that the polling station oficials were confused, and appeared poorly trained and poorly prepared; what I witnessed was a tremendous spirit and determination to take a positive step away from the pain of the past. and so, when we approached the twenty hour mark and the vote count was taking place by the light of a cheap electric lantern, I watched the utterly exhausted officials dilligently poring through the huge stacks of ballots, trying to reconcile the final vote count wth the numbers on the voters' list. As I sat there, equally exhausted (but fed, watered, and having had the chance to relieve myself), I too made a dilligent effort to take not of absolutely every little detail that I could.

My job, as I kept reminding myself, was to contribute to the determination of the legitimacy, fairness, and transparency of the process. When a ballot was incorrectly counted, or the electoral law was ignored by some genuinely well-intentioned improvisation, I took note, and made sure it went into my final report. Of course the process wasn't perfect, the Congolese people have never done this before. But without fail, what struck me over and over through the day was the sheer spirit and determination shown by those officials to make sure they did their job as best they could. And when the electoral commission gets the reports from the national and international observers I hope they can take our comments and reccomendations to heart, so that the next time around they can make the process that much more transparent, free, and fair.

...

I move now to the second phase of my time in the Congo, having bid farewell to most of the Winnipeg observer team. Today I moved in to a local hostel with John Derksen, his wife Nel, and Michael Mayen, all from Winnipeg. Tomorrow we will meet with our main contact for the rest of our project to sort out the details of what exactly we will be doing with our time. I am happy to report that our new home has internet access, and I hope to be able to report back here much more regularly.

-joel

First Signs of Election Stress

2006-07-28T04:34:00.000-05:00

With two days to go now, the local population is starting to show some signs of stress. With the return yesterday of Presidential candidate, vice-president and ex-warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba, masses of people gathered in the streets. According to "some guy I asked on the street," a group of Bemba's men were seen tearing down the election posters of other candidates. The photographer with our group was driving past some of these people, and was forced to drive over the poster of incumbent Joseph Kabila. Later in the day, likely in retaliation, Bemba's house was set on fire. We were driving through the downtown area when I noticed a massive plume of smoke ahead. when we approached we saw an amazing fire, and heard what sounded like gunfire. turns out Bemba's militia had an arms cache in his house, and his munitions were going off in the fire. Needless to say, we left the area quickly. Later in the day, also related to Bemba's return, a rally turned violent, and resulted in some looting and burning of cars and houses. We're not sure yet who is responsible, but at least one man is dead, and there are unconfirmed reports of another death, as well as a rape, as a result of the violence. Today we are looking out for more signs of violence, and being extremely cautious in out excursions. We have also cancelled our outing for the evening in the interest of security.
Earlier yesterday we did our preliminary election observer training, and we will be meeting with the independent electoral commission today. We have a final training on Saturday, right before the election.
Election day is likely to be a long one. We will be starting very early, as we have to be at the polling stations before 6:00am. The polls will close at 5:00pm, at which point we begin monitoring the count; the vote count is likely to last all night, and possibly into the next day, and I don't anticipate getting much sleep. As for security concerns at the polls, we can count on MONUC (the UN force), EUFOR (the EU force), and maybe the DRC Police or Presidential guard to be keeping a close eye on things. There are a fairly large number of international, as well as local observers, and we are hoping that this large presence contributes to limiting any potential violence at the polls. Of course, if things get hairy we are under no obligation to stick around and watch it, and will likely be whisked away quite quickly.
Thank you everyone who has been commenting on the blog, sharing it with others, and sending prayers! It is all very much appreciated!
à la prochaine!
-joel

Day Six

2006-07-25T05:42:00.000-05:00

Where to begin... Life here has been comfortable, albeit a little slow as I wait for the rest of the Canadian team to arrive. The weekend was pretty relaxingm involving much hanging out and talking with family and their friends. I've definitely been working on my french, and am at the point now where I can have a decently intellectual conversation despite the stumbling and occasional pauses to come up with the right word. I've been asking a lot of questions of people to guage their impression of the upcoming elections. There seems to be a lot of hope, in the sense that everyone seems to want good things to come out of it, but not a lot of people have faith in the current government or political system not to interfere and manipulate the results. I've made a conscious effort not to divulge any kind of political opinion, especially yesterday when I met one of the legislative candidates, or when we see campaign ads on TV (which everyone watches religiously, just like in Canada). It's been hard, as in my head I have some strong commentaries to make. things like: "you can't be serious, this guy wants to be president?!" But alas, I have the strength to keep those thoughts to myself.
I've learned quite a bit more about Congolese history, particularly in terms of the general population's perspective on history, as opposed to the "official" version, or the western perspective. On the whole my research has been pretty accurate, but lacking in the sense of knowing what the average person thinks. Right now the Congolese economy is in shambles, often making even an education useless. There simply is not a lot of commerce goin on to sustain any large level of employment. Most people do some small work or roadside sales to earn enough to eat, but little more. Because of this the roads are littered with merchants and tiny stalls selling everything from loaves of bread to cell phone cards. Ah yes, the cell phone, I almost forgot. Everyone has a cell phone. Okay, maybe not grandma, but they are more prominent here than in Canada. Land lines, I've learned, are simply unreliable and expensive. So everywhere you look there's someone selling minutes (which here they refer to as "unités").
I've been waiting for cuture shock to set in, and I'm starting to get impatient... not that I want it, but if it's gonna happen I'd rather it happen before all our election observer training this week. I've been very conscious of how much I don't understand here, and came fairly well prepared for the fact that I would experience things that I just could not expect. I suppose it's helpful that I can communicate much easier here than I could when I was in Thailand five years ago. That, being my first overseas travel, and first major stay outside of Canada hit me pretty hard. But that sense of isolation is less here. It also helps that I've had this last week to get over the jet-lag, and adjust myself to the climate and food. On that front all has been well. Congolese food is delicious, and they're taking care to feed me well. We drink a lot of instant coffee, and I'm glad that I wasn't surprised to see an entire fish on my plate (it was actually quite good). I've even come to enjoy eating "foufou," the local food that is essentially corn flour and some other local flour mixed with water to form a stiff... umm... substance. okay, bad description, but good eatin'. The weather's been good too, pretty much a hot Winnipeg summer. They make fun of me for thinking it's hot, because this is winter here, but I can live with that.
The rest of my group arrives tonight, and our training begins tomorrow, I'm sure things will be getting much more interesting very soon, and I'll update again as soon as possible!

-joel

Welcome to Kinshasa

2006-07-22T07:15:00.000-05:00

you know, sometimes being told something doesn't always make it true... it took a couple days of waiting, and a half day of searching to find this little internet café, I hope I can find something a little easier for the duration of my stay.
Well then, where to start... my first impression of Kinshasa can be summed up in one word: Chaos. In whatever way you can imagine that we have rules and order for things in the West, forget that, and imagine a whole lot of people yelling and scrambling for pretty much everything. The airport was totally disorganized, and consisted of a whole lot of yelling and pushing, until my temporary host father's chauffeur (no kidding) showed up with a pieced of paper marked "Joel Marson - Canadien." Close enough. Help! so after paying off the customs agent we were suddeny outside, getting into a beat up old Mercedes-Benz. Next frightening realization: there are NO rules on the roads of Kinshasa. Zero. None. Drive where you want, as fast as you want, and oh, the only unofficial rule is that if you want to pass someone you honk so they know you're coming, making for very noisy scary, scrambled traffic.
My host family is very nice, they've been treating me like royalty, making me somewhat uncomfortable. I told them I didn't want to be a burden on them, but they keep being so damn nice. Like yesterday, while I was sitting on the incongruous leather couch, one of the boys of the house brought me a beer, opened it, and poured it in a glass for me. wow. I don't imagine my awkward thanks fully expressed that this was totally unnecessary (but very nice).
I've already had a couple tours of Kinshasa. It is divided into two main regions, "la ville" which is the developed former colonial central region, and "la cité" where all the poor black people live. I'm staying in "la cité" where the roads make a canadian forest trail look like smooth... I can't believe the potholes (some car-eaters that would silence any complaining Winnipegger), and the general state of disarray of roads and buildings. My host-father's chauffeur, who drove me around today, was telling me that when the new government took over, after mobutu, they didn't do anything to develop the city. and so this is the result.
Alas, I'm running short on time. I'll write again next chance I get! And don't worry, all that bad stuff in the news is happening in the East. I'm in Kinshasa, in good hands!

-joel

New Congo News Section

2006-07-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

just a quick note, I've added a bunch of links to some useful news and information sites on the Congo. You can find them at the top of the right-hand column on this page. If you come across any other useful news sites (Congo or otherwise), please let me know and I'll put them up on the blog.

-joel

Four Days to Go

2006-07-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

I have four days to go, and I'm not sure I'm ready yet. Not that anyone can ever be prepared for a totally new experience, but I'm trying to be a mental boyscout. Last night was our orientation, and we got a general overview of what an election observer mission does from Derek Martens, who participated in the OAS observer group in Peru last year. Most of it was what I expected. I think our main concerns in the leadup are going to be with familiarizing ourselves with Congolese electoral law. But with just over a month in the country, I have other concerns in mind. There is the possibility of unrest or violence if the elections are not perceived to be fair, or that certain groups are not happy with the results. On a simpler level I'm also a little nervous about going to a country where I'll have to survive on my fading knowledge of French. I've been making a point of trying to use it as much as possible lately, but there is a big difference between casual conversations and surviving the streets of a new country. Sorting out the details of my accomodations last night helped to ease some of my nervousness, as I am now less burdened by the fear that I would have nowhere to stay for the duration of my time there. It seems that the congolese are a very hospitable people, and I get the feeling that I should have no trouble arranging accomodations for the later portion of my trip. Now all I have to do is figure out how I'm gonna pay for all of this. Not only am I volunteering my time, I am also taking on full responsibility for all of my costs. The plane ticket alone was over $3500, nevermind a month worth of accommodations, food, and transportation costs. For those of you who feel that this is a worthwhile venture I will gladly accept any donations to help defray these costs! And for those of you who can't afford to help financially, please help by telling people about what I'm doing, sending them this blog address, and encouraging people to think about what's going on in the DRC.
I've been informed that I MAY be able to access the internet somewhat regularly while I am in the Congo. If this is the case I will do my best to update you whenever I can.
-joel

I have seen what flood can come from the rains

2006-07-11T12:03:00.000-05:00

I should probably apologize for not writing this sooner, but I didn’t want to jinx things until I was sure all the pieces were in place. Three weeks ago, while taking a summer institute class at the U of W, I leaned of a group of people taking part in an election observer mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I immediately went to the supervisor/director of the project, and asked how I could get involved. See, I’ve been studying the situation in the Congo for quite some time now, and have been following the progress towards elections with great hope and anxiety. The war(s) in the Congo have killed over 4 million people in the last eights years – that’s more death and suffering than any other war since World War Two – yet the west has barely even noticed. The country has not had an elected government since 1965. So when, in 2003, the peacebuilding process began to move towards power-sharing and democracy there was hope. But with dozens of potential spoilers, and a number of disparate militia group vying for power it’s difficult to be optimistic. How can such a conflicted society that has known only fighting as a means of problem solving move towards democracy? Perhaps this is too negative of a characterization. I have personally had the opportunity to meet with one of the peacemakers. But he had to flee his home because of the fear and intimidation, coming to Canada to carry on in his work from the outside. And it worked, at least with me. Serge influenced me. He made it all that much more real that these are not statistics, or facts, or sad stories that make our life here in Canada uncomfortable if only for that contrast with another reality – these are real people’s lives we’re talking about. These are not strangers, aliens, foreigners. Just because they might look different than me, they have lived different lives, and suffered different burdens, does not change the fact that we are all brothers and sisters in the same family. If your sister was raped would you not do everything to console her, to help her heal, to work so that that kind of suffering wouldn’t happen again? If you saw your mother hacked to death with a machete right in front of your eyes would you not want to do everything in your power to make it so that no one ever had to see that ever again? So why is it different if it wasn’t my sister but his? If it wasn’t my mother but yours? Would you not hold my hand and walk with me towards a better future? Given the opportunity, wouldn’t you at least want to try to contribute to healing that horrible pain? Even if it’s just a drop in the bucket, I have seen what flood can come from the rains. And now there is even more reason for hope. With the election only nineteen days away the opportunity exists to push this torn country in a better direction. The fact of the matter is, a lot of people don’t want the fighting to end. They don’t like the fact that power will be shared because maybe that means they have less chance of more control, or that those with more money and more influence might sway the vote, or that the same murderers and pillagers that have raped this country are now seeking legitimacy to what – to be able to claim a right to keep doing as they have always done? There are those who do not believe in the power of democracy, who believe that their version of what is right is more important than what an apparently uneducated population might claim to want and need. These are the reasons to fear. But when we all sit back and do nothing the world goes to hell. If I stay home, watching the fires on the news while lamenting the heat, if I care in my heart but let it wither out of sadness – all the love in the world means nothing if all it means is that we cry for those who die. But the uncomfortable reality is that sometimes if we want to help someone we have to do more than just care. Sometimes we have to do whatever it is we can do so that next time there is change it is a positive change.
I leave for the Congo in eight days fully aware of the risk that confront me. And as much as I love and care for every single person that will be thinking of me safely back at home, I simply could not continue to sleep at night knowing I passed up the opportunity to help. Going to the Congo as an election observer will change my life, but that hardly matters. My main concern is that it changes the lives of those millions of people who have not known peace.

Stephen Colbert has big brass balls

2006-05-29T00:57:00.000-05:00

And now this... Stephen Colbert's speech to the presidential correspondents' dinner May 1st. This speech was delivered not only to the American media, but to the president himself. This is definitely worth the read.

-jm

UPDATE:
Watch the whole video HERE:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879
Updated, full transcript HERE:
http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811
Sign the "Thank you Stephen Colbert" blog HERE:
http://thankyoustephencolbert.org

Text of the speech:

"Wow, wow, what an honor. The White House Correspondents' Dinner. To just sit here, at the same table with my hero, George W. Bush, to be this close to the man. I feel like I'm dreaming. Somebody pinch me. You know what, I'm a pretty sound sleeper, that may not be enough. Somebody shoot me in the face.

Is he really not here tonight? The one guy who could have helped.

By the way, before I get started, if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers and somebody from the NSA will be right over with a cocktail.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press corps, Mr. President and first lady, my name is Stephen Colbert and it's my privilege tonight to celebrate our president. He's not so different, he and I. We get it. We're not brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We're not members of the "fact-inista." We go straight from the gut, right sir? That's where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you are going to say "I did look it up," and that's not true. That's because you looked it up in a book. Next time look it up in your gut. I did. My gut tells me that's how our nervous system works.

Every night on my show, "The Colbert Report," I speak straight from the gut, OK? I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the no-fact zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term.

I'm a simple man with a simple mind, with a simple set of beliefs that I live by.

Number one, I believe in America. I believe it exists. My gut tells me I live there. I feel that it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and I strongly believe it has 50 states. And I cannot wait to see how the Washington Post spins that one tomorrow.

I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.

I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. I believe it is possible -- I saw this guy do it once in Cirque du Soleil. It was magical.

And though I am a committed Christian, I believe everyone has the right to their own religion, be it Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe it's yogurt. But I refuse to believe it's not butter. Most of all I believe in this president. Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32 percent approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias.

So, Mr. President, pay no attention to the people that say the glass is half full. Pay no attention to the people who say the glass is half empty, because 32 percent means it's 2/3 empty. There's still some liquid in that glass is my point, but I wouldn't drink it. The last third is usually backwash.

Folks, my point is that I don't believe this is a low point in this presidency. I believe it is just a lull, before a comeback. I mean, it's like the movie "Rocky." The president is Rocky and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world. It's the 10th round. He's bloodied, his corner man [is] Mick, who in this case would be the vice president, and he's yelling "Cut me, Dick, cut me," and every time he falls she says stay down! Does he stay down? No. Like Rocky, he gets back up and in the end he -- actually loses in the first movie. OK. It doesn't matter. The point is the heart-warming story of a man who was repeatedly punched in the face.

So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68 percent of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68 percent approve of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't.

I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.

Now, there may be an energy crisis. This president has a very forward-thinking energy policy. Why do you think he's down on the ranch cutting that brush all the time? He's trying to create an alternative energy source. By 2008 we will have a mesquite-powered car.

And I just like the guy. He's a good joe. Obviously loves his wife, calls her his better half. And polls show America agrees. She's a true lady and a wonderful woman. But I just have one beef, ma'am. I'm sorry, but this reading initiative. I've never been a fan of books. I don't trust them. They're all fact, no heart. I mean, they're elitists telling us what is or isn't true, what did or didn't happen. What's Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was built in 1914. If I want to say it was built in 1941, that's my right as an American. I'm with the president, let history decide what did or did not happen.

The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday. Events can change, this man's beliefs never will.

And as excited as I am to be here with the president, I am appalled to be surrounded by the liberal media that is destroying America, with the exception of Fox News. Fox News gives you both sides of every story -- the President's side and the vice president's side. But the rest of you, what are you thinking, reporting on NSA wiretapping or secret prisons in Eastern Europe? Those things are secret for a very important reason -- they're super depressing. And if that's your goal, well, misery accomplished.

Over the last five years you people were so good over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.

But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home.

Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know, fiction."

The Chicken in the Egg

2006-05-26T11:05:00.000-05:00

As a reflection on a larger issue, today I've been confirmed as "not so crazy after all." You see, I've been getting flack, quite a bit lately, for "complicating things," for refusing to accept the simple answers, and being willing to consider that things can in fact be more complicated that the apparent answers, yet elegantly simple at the same time. What the hell is he talking about, you might ask. Well, many people sit on one side of an issue or the other, claiming that it is either black or white, the chicken or the egg. And whenever I try to explain that the true answer is almost always more subtle, I am greeted with hostility from both camps. Well, today I have my day, for a group of geneticists, philosophers, and chicken farmers have found the answer. You see, the geneticist has confirmed that genetic material does not change during an animal's life. The philosopher argued that the fact that the chicken grows up to be a chicken is fundamental to its identity as a chicken, regardless of whether or not its parents were chickens. And finally, the farmer showed that eggs have been around long before chickens. In summary: something that wasn't a chicken laid an egg, and inside that egg grew what would grow up to be a chicken. So you see, the answer is so very simple, yet it defies the dichotomous nature of the question. It is not a question of the chicken OR the egg, now we know that what really came first was the chicken IN the egg.

you can find the whole story here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/05/26/chicken.egg/index.html.

-joel

Sick of Being Broken

2006-05-06T18:50:00.000-05:00

Every now and then we're reminded how fragile the human body is... this is the second time this year that I've been reminded of my mortality. First was that awesome "snowboarding on a toboggan drunk" concussion (pure genius, no?), now this. I swear, it didn't involve booze, or even some vain attempt at the irrational. No, this was just a regular ol' bike ride gone bad. And no one (that I know of) even saw it happen. Middle of the day, riding carefully, and not even too fast, on the sidewalk, then BAM! out of nowhere my wheel gets pulled away by a crack. Of course, the traditional course of action would be to get thrown off the bike. Alas, I continued forward, landing ribs on handlebars with full weight and momentum to boot. Funny thing is, I kinda bounced, hopped off, caught my balance, grabbed the bike (still in a crumbling fall), and re-mounted my unfaithful steed to continue along my way. It must have been absolutely comical, 'cause I didn't even fall over, I just sorta bounced off, then back on to my bike, and continued on my way. it wasn't till I got home that I realized how hard I actually hit the handlebars. After much icing and complaining, and five days of pain, I sought out a doctor who said that my ribs are most likely fractured, but there's nothing I can do, so I just have to live with the pain for a while. Great. Nevermind the fact that moving and breathing hurt, I just finished school for the term, and all I want to do is party. *sigh... okay, done feeling sorry for myself.

In lieu of sympathy cards donations of inebriants may be made in person.

-jm

sometimes I hate technology

2006-05-04T13:51:00.000-05:00

trying to make this new web page work is becoming a trying experience. apparently internet explorer doesn't treat it all as well as firefox, so rather than agonize over the damn thing, I'm pulling dictator treatment on you all and telling you that you should be using firefox. besides, it's more secure, faster, and way cooler with all the customization and extensions and stuff. just try it, it's great.

get firefox.

-joel

A New Look

2006-05-02T17:28:00.000-05:00

well, having just finished with school (and after the requisite partying), I decided it was time to do some upgrading to the website. If you don't come here often you probably won't notice, but I've done two major things.. First, I consolidated the old website from the U of W site and al its goodies, into the blogger site. Second, I updated the template to something a little more to my style. If you're familiar with the old U of W site, you'll notice that the blogger section (this stuff, in the middle section) gets updated way more often. and if you're more familiar with the blog, you'll notice a bunch of extra links and other useful tools, particularly along the right-hand column.

so there it is, something a little nicer to work with. As always, if you spot any problems or mistakes please forward them along. and I always appreciate your comments on my ramblings.

happy spring.

-joel

Eco-Footprint for Earth Day

2006-04-22T14:27:00.000-05:00

http://www.earthday.net/footprint/

okay, so today is earth day, so rather than recycle something, or plant a tree, I returned to the eco-footprint website to see how bad I really am. If you haven't done it yet you really have to give it a go. it's very simple. you just answer a few simple questions and it tells you how many planets we'd need if everyone lived like you. Apparently I'm exactly on the Canadian average, consuming the equivalent of 8.8 hectares of land. If everyone in the world lived the way I do we'd need 4.9 planets. now consider, I don't eat processed food (very often), I walk or bike everywhere I go, and I live in a moderate to small apartment. just for kicks I did it again, pretending to be a jet-set, big house, big car, big consumer american. that's when it told me we'd need another 21 planets. Not to be outdone, I went back and pretended to be a kenyan organic farmer, at which point it told me I was using 0.7 of the global 1.1 hectares available per person. So basicall, either we're all totally fucked, or we're screwing over most of the people on this planet by using up all the resources. Now I have to figure out how to consume 1/5 of what I normally do without starving to death...

happy earth day.

Rattling Nuclear Sabres

2006-04-18T12:16:00.000-05:00

In an increasingly volatile pissing contest, the US and Iran have continued to show their swaggering disdain for human life. As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rallied his troops Tuesday, he continued his onslaught of anti-western, anti-Israel rhetoric. In response to international criticism of his handling of the nuclear debate he responded "be angy at us and die of this anger." Not to be outdone, US "President" George W. Bush responded by refusing to rule out the possibility of a nuclear attack on Iran, should diplomacy fail.

As much as I would like not to be too cynical, I can't help but think that Bush has already made up his mind yet again. let's assess the situation: one one side we have a man who believes he has a special connection with God, who will guide him to victory and... oh wait, that's both of them. To be certain, all this rhetoric about holy war continues to come from those fanatics who think they've got God on their side, justifying their hatred. But now it's a little more serious, with Iran already claiming the ability to enrich uranium, the possibility of a nuclear confrontation is far more plausible than when Iraq was overrun by Mohammed El Baradei and his lot. Of course, Iran is actually looking for an excuse to wipe Israel off the map.

So what can we do about it? well, for one, threatening war against a country that wants war is not a good start. This foolish reliance on war as the most effective form of coercion needs to be seriously reevaluated. But of course, the western world has got its nuts in a vice by relying so heavily on middle-eastern oil. But that's not the only economic connection with Iran. If we're wiling to risk lives in a military war, why don't we consider risking the dollars in an economic war? Cut them off, shut them out, tell Iran that it is not welcome in the community of nations if it won't play by the rules. But then that would mean taking the US to task for the same, in which case it's just easier to bomb the hell out of them and let the victors write history.

Pandora's Music box

2006-04-06T00:11:00.000-05:00

Amidst the frantic reading and writing that is this academic season I have somehow found time to be exposed to yet another interesting corner of the web. You can all thank Erin for introducing us to www.pandora.com, the website that streams music to you based on your favourite bands and input. So let’s say you like Thelonious Monk, you type in his name and the first thing pandora does is play one of his songs, but what comes next? This is the cool part. it plays similar music based on the style. So maybe next is Chick Corea, then Charlie Parker then, what’s this? Something I’ve never heard of before! Cool, new good tunes just like the stuff I already like. And if there’s a song I don’t like I tell pandora not to play that kind of thing anymore, and it listens. Or if I really like it I can tell it to play more of the same. Okay, the sales pitch is done, just go check it out, it’s really cool.

-jm

Books

2006-03-17T23:18:00.000-06:00

Dear fellow students... when's the last time you actually finished reading a book? maybe it's just me, but of the dozens of books I've read over the last few months I don't recall actually reading the entirety of any one book. Either it's just the first couple chapters, or a quick skim of the chapter headings, introductions and conclusions, or sometimes I just pick out the chapter or section that seems to suit my needs. I'm sure in terms of being a student that there really isn't any other way around it. I don't have the extra couple years that I'd need to finish all these books, and honestly I don't think I'd want to finish some of them even if I did have the time. But sometimes I worry that I might be missing out. What if there's some great revelation on page four hundred and forty seven that I skipped 'cause I was in a hurry? it's troubling, to a point. there's so much information and knowledge out there, sometimes I worry that I just don't have enough time to cram it all into my head.

Next Show: March 30th with Steve Baria

2006-02-23T19:14:00.000-06:00

Ah, it's been so long... yes, it's true, I don't play as aften as I'd like, but alas, a new show is in the books. My good friend Steve has asked me to play a show with him on March 30th at the Academy Bar and Eatery. I expect to see all you loyal fans out there to support the new material. if support remains strong I'm likely to try to have the new album out by spring, so come tell me you love me!
love, rhythm and rhymes,
-joel

on being resolute

2006-01-13T06:18:00.000-06:00

Okay, having essentially dissappeared for the last little while, I was recently compelled to reflect on the only new years’ resolution I made this year. Now, I generally view resolutions on the same level as voodoo, horoscopes, and pet rocks… it’s quaint and fun until you start to take it too seriously. With that in mind I set out not be one of those whose lofty ambitions barely make it any longer than their hangovers. And so in a quiet reflection I decided that the one thing that would benefit me the most this year, something I could keep in mind as a conscious effort to self-betterment, is to be more honest with myself and others. Of course, you’re thinking, honesty is a virtue. It’s something we all value as much as the next. Why the big deal, joel? Well let me tell you. Those things that we value are usually held in high regard because they’re not so easy to uphold. As much as we say that it is one of our principles, how often does it get lost in the tradeoffs of daily life in favour of some other, small concession?
Take a second to reflect on that.
how often does honesty get lost in the tradeoffs of daily life in favour of some small concession?
Now there are a few responses to this question: denial, of course, from the high and mighty faultless who’d throw stones at jesus himself in the mind of their own purity; acceptance of the “inevitable” from those, like many or most who feel that life is a burden with which we cope by whatever means necessary, and minimize guilt under the umbrella “I did my best”; And then there are those who consciously strive to self improvement by entrenching such values deeper into identity.
What does it mean to be honest with yourself and others? To me it’s primarly about being more responsive to the world around me, about reflecting on the state of things as they are by recognizing even that which I don’t want to believe. It’s about being willing to learn, being willing to be wrong, to fail, to be weak, because it is only by being able to see these things that we can become stronger. It means disposing of any notion of invincibility, of righteousness, of superiority. It also means taking credit where credit is due, taking advantage from one’s strengths, and ultimately working towards one’s goals with a more solid footing. It means knowing why I think and do what I do, and being willing to defend that. It also means not being caught off guard by those things that I’ve repressed and hidden until they could no longer be kept from unpredictably impacting my life.
So here’s a toast to being able to say “get your head out of your ass” and “go ahead, take your best shot.”

Christmas Show!

2005-12-20T11:19:00.000-06:00

Next show:
Friday, December 23^rd, at Dylan O’Connor’s, (8-2609 Portage ave.).

I’ll be opening for a few bands including Groove Port, Red Seed, and headliners NASTIC. So come earlier if you want to catch me.

Hope to see you all there!

-joel

2005-12-14T15:44:00.000-06:00

OneWorld: Racial Poverty Gaps in U.S. Amount to Human Rights Violation, Says U.N. Expert

“as the wealthiest country on Earth, with higher per capita income levels than any other country, the United States has also had one of the highest incidences of poverty among the rich industrialized nations” … “over 12 percent of the United States population--or about 37 million people--lived in poverty in 2004, with nearly 16 percent--or about 46 million--having no health insurance.” … “more than 38 million people, including 14 million children, are threatened by lack of food.”

Reuters: Pacific islanders move to escape global warming

According to a recent UN report, “rising seas have forced 100 people on a Pacific island to move to higher ground in what may be the first example of a village formally displaced because of modern global warming”

a ramble to fill the time

2005-11-29T09:57:00.000-06:00

A ramble to fill the time. Needing reprieve from analytical acrobatics, I seek to twist my mind around self-indulgent thoughts to relieve myself and buy the energy to keep writing. Sitting in a downtown coffee shop, the rumble of traffic melds into the background of various air conditioning systems, coffee machines, and the ever-present, occasionally enjoyable background music. The people that pass the window give me brief representations of their lives, leaving me to make ridiculously broad assumptions in order to hope that I understand the world around me. A nice car, a nice job; a dirty jacket, a painful life; a strong gait, a clear mind. Unrepentant at the inevitable fallacy of many or most, my assumptions continue to draw pictures of that which I pray to understand. To label, to apply preconceived notions on whatever we perceive, we try to make sense so that we might come to conclusions that just might lead to our ability to make decisions. Upon what else might we base life but that which we perceive and that which we believe. A journey guided by the brief intimations of an overwhelming blindness. But what would we need to overcome to escape that darkness? The openness, the vulnerability to fear and the uncertain leaves too many of us cold and frightened. Comforted by thinking we undertand, we are too easily led to believe that life is much simpler than it is. There is a vulnerability in venturing beyond those known assumptions. It leaves us open to fail, to be wrong, to be hurt. And what identity might be found in wrongness? What connection to the world when we prescribe to something beyond the status quo? No. the comfort is found in repetition, in patterns, habits, repetitions that allow us to believe we have taken part in that which has been deemed right by a supposed democratic process of consent. But what if that consent has been not out of conscious evaluative choice, but something that has been born of repetition and oversimplification in order to sell us on an idea that in reality only benefits those who promote it? So to break free from those chains we must start back at zero, accept the darkness, the weakness, the cold uncertainty, seek to see the world for what it is. We must break away from our expectations, from our own influence on our perceptions. This returns us to our desires. We desire identity, love, sustenance, warmth, comfort. We wish to be free from the fear of losing that which we desire. But the only way to be free from fear is to relinquish our desires and preconceived notions of the world. It is only by greed, the filthy antisocial extension of desire that any person has fear. But that greed can only be fed if the people it surrounds allow it to feed. without the consent of the majority no imbalance can exist. But those imbalances do exist because too many people are afraid to take that journey out beyond that which gives them comfort to realize the inherent balance of human relations.

to hoot or not to hoot

2005-11-26T22:09:00.000-06:00

Busy as hell trying to distract myself from what it is I know I should be doing. One paper left and all I want to do is pretend it doesn’t matter, but whenever I try to do something else it drags me down and back again. Stress and pain keeping me from focusing, I’ve been in some kind of a haze, waiting for an end that I know is not too far away. I know this stress, and I know to expect it, but that doesn’t change the facts. My back is killing me, and I laugh that I stopped smoking pot. I keep thinking that maybe I should have a little to settle myself, ease the aching, and then I question myself for seeking a crutch. What’s worse? Suffering from back pain and the subsequent redoubling of the stress of not finishing my paper within this time, time that I know is more than enough, or having a hoot so I can get my mind off the pain and back on the page? (fyi: I have deteriorating discs in my back causing excruciating pain). For those of you who still smoke this probably seems like a silly battle. What harm is there? Well, when I stopped smoking pot I had a few things in mind. I wanted my short term memory back, I wanted to go a whole term and see if that extra 5 IQ points (redeemable upon stoppage!) would help, I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t addicted, I wanted to prove to myself that as much as it was a social thing it isn’t a necessary part of my life any more. Maybe I’ve proven all of that. Maybe I’ve proven that life involves a more complicated set of needs than food and water. We make value tradeoffs every day, so is it a measure of a man that he holds to certain values over certain perceived needs? What good are values if you can’t enjoy the life they bring? That’s the point, right? You build up your values based on what you believe will bring about the best life you can bring to yourself. So if I’m gonna weigh out the choices what do I have? Proving everything I just gave as my reasons vs. feeling like hell. Still I sense some discomfort at trading values for pleasure and comfort…

ramblings on conflict

2005-10-29T19:28:00.000-05:00

I found this rant on my computer, I think it was written some time this past summer…

One of the fundamental sources of conflict is incompatible goals, that is, wanting different things. But, what do we want? Why do we want it? Is the problem wanting? The solution can hardly be simplified to say that we should stop wanting. Granted, this would spare us most conflict, but few are willing, as is apparently manifested in society’s lack of will to change. I mean, look at us, we’re boxed in, what are we striving for but what is immediately placed in front of us? Are we not, then, just animals feeding at the trough of capitalism? Isn’t the point to be a consumer… what is capitalism but the ism – that is, the means by which something is done– of capital accumulation. So, we have become the functional particulate elements of a grand machine designed to build wealth, somehow attracting the masses with it’s glitter and sparkle. We chase at some remote dream, dangled literally in front of us in fasion and celebrity, spinning below us the treadmill of a thousand golden temples built for those who can pull the strings. Are we, the masses, to accept a lowly pittance and humiliation at the merest assertion of a meritocratic hierarchy… do we not see that this is a false dream, a mirage of what has descended upon us? So convinced of the necessity of our slavery we accept the prescribed design of life for fear of a well designed hell where the careful controls of the wealth generating machine can no longer save us from That Which We Do Not Know.
Yet no one blows on the house of cards, because no one thinks it will do anything.

-joel

More Good News

2005-10-27T01:23:00.000-05:00

Wow, so many interesting things happening…
Okay, first thing first:
“Hand in Hand for Peace in the Congo”
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Duckworth Centre (400 Spence st.)
University of Winnipeg
5:00-10:00pm
Photo Exibition
Guest Speakers
Traditional Food ($5)
Live Music* and Dance
Donations welcome

Joel Going Back to Thailand…
Yes, that’s right folks, I think it might actually happen real soon. I just spoke to Ruth, the Practicum Coordinator at Menno Simons (the Conflict Res. College part of my Degree), and she gave me the green light to hook up with an organization working in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand! I still need to learn a lot about the group before I can really speak to exactly what it is that they do, and what I might be doing, but it has to do with political dissidents (I think) from Burma/Myanmar… really, just wait a bit, I’ll get some better info for you. The point is, I could be in Thailand by this time next year, eating Kanoms and Sticky Rice, and sweating my balls off in what’s supposed to be winter.
…more news to follow as I get it…
-joel

Crazy Schoolness

2005-10-24T21:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, totally got slammed by the homework over the last couple of days. It’s amazing what happens when you forget about one of your assignments while studying for a huge exam! Well, my silly little physics assignment is out of the way, now I can get back to studying for International Law. Geeze, so much material, and so little time to absorb, process, analyze, regurgitate.
Work, work, work, work….
-jm

Congo Expo Show

2005-10-23T23:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I’ll have to update this when I have more info but here’s what I have for now…
What: an expo of the Conflict in the Congo, featuring guest speakers, a photo slide show, FOOD, drumming, singing, and some live music by ME.
When: Sunday October 30, 2005 starting at 5:00pm
Where: University of Winnipeg Duckworth Centre, 2nd floor
Why: to inform people about the conflict in the Congo, encourage engagement, and fundraise for development projects.
… so basically, I met a man who just came here from the Congo in the spring, and he’s put together this event to let people know about the horrible war that’s been going on in his country (that’s killed more people than any other war since WWII). There will be guest speakers talking about the conflict, a photo slide show (warning: graphic content; it will be optional, and in a separate room), food from the Congo, drumming, and singing, and I will also be playing a few songs, including the debut of a new song (lyrics below: These Eyes).
The idea is to let people know more about this war that has destroyed so many lives, and continues to this day. It has often been referred to as “Africa’s Forgotten War” because it hasn’t gotten the attention of more striking, immediate crises such as the Rwandan Genocide (which many say was the start of the Congo war), or the current genocide, and subsequent humanitarian crisis in the Sudan. If you want to read more, start here:

Human Rights Watch: Essential Backgrounder – Democratic Republic of Congo, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/congo9855.htm

International Crisis Group: Congo Action Plan, http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3758

US Dep’t of State – Backgrounder: Democratic Republic of Congo, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2823.htm

CIA World Factbook – Democratic Republic of Congo, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cg.html

-joel

(P.S.: any bloggers out there who can tell me how to get rid of those stupid little flower bullets? I just don't have the time right now to figure it out and they bug me)

Today in the News

2005-10-18T07:26:00.000-05:00

Martin right to talk tough on softwood: Clinton
Earthquake death toll could top 54,000
Bird flu found in Greece
World is more peaceful now than at any time in 12 years
* 2005 Human Security Report *
Gomery Report Just a Part of Ongoing Liberal Glut
NYT: Iraq Election Officials Question Unusually High “Yes” Votes
(Same story from AFP)

Today in the News

2005-10-09T11:51:00.000-05:00

More than 300,000 Dead in South Asia Quake
CBC Lockout to End as Union Accepts Tentative Deal
Rain, Mudslides Devastate Guatemala
Avian Flu Making its Way to Europe
Sources say Schroeder Likely to Step Aside
US Accountability:
Systematic and Chronic Prisoner Abuse
Also check out this story about an American Muslim Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay who became a prisoner, accused of spying.

This is the Downside of Freedom that No One Wants to Talk About

2005-10-08T12:21:00.000-05:00

Make what you will of it… “Life is what you want it to be.” I always thought that was a bullship cop-out spoken by stupid optimists who never really wanted anything they couldn’t have. Then as time went by, and I started to pay attention to the way the world works, I started to realize that there may be some truth behind that ridiculous statement. As the feeling of sitting in the bottom of the world’s outhouse came and went for the umpteenth time it occurred to me that maybe the world doesn’t really give a shit about me. At first this was disgusting, and sad… kinda depressing. Then after a while I thought about it and realized how liberating it actually is. The world doesn’t care what happens to me. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t good people out there that might help me in a time of need, or that the behemoth structure we still call government hasn’t at least tried to offer me such limping institutions as health care and the rule of law. I mean the world in general. That vast majority of people who couldn’t be bothered to look past their own noses. Those everyday Joes and Janes on the street that would leave me to die in a pool of my own blood for fear of complicating their own lives. The only one you can ever be sure is going to be there to pick you up is yourself. And if you wallow in your own pain and suffering that is YOUR suffering. And if your world goes to shit, that’s YOUR world if shit. And the only way you’re ever going to get out of it is by your own effort. Sure maybe people will be there to help you out, or maybe not, but the point is that you have to reach for it, to strive for it, to work to improve your own life, because no one else is going to do it for you. This is the downside of freedom that no one wants to talk about. It’s called responsibility; that counterpoint to rights that means you can do what you want (within reason and law, and maybe morality), but you have to do it yourself. So all those people out there who never grew up and still want someone to take care of them can sit back and whine, and cry, and bitch about how unfair it is that you actually have to put effort into your own happiness, while others will go about making life mean more than just survival. You have to want it, you have to be willing to learn (that means change). Only you can know what brings you happiness, and only you can seek it out. So stop praying (begging) to idols, stop complaining about the things that prevent you, and seek out the things that will help you. And if you still think mommy and daddy are going to be there to make sure “everything’s gonna be alright” till you die, then you’ve got a lot more painful lessons coming.

THESE EYES

2005-10-04T14:29:00.000-05:00

Wake up to the sound
of gunfire its all around
between all the screams
oh the begging and crying

All these eyes are crying for lost souls, crying for hope
These eyes are asking me why we don’t stop, we don’t stop,
we don’t stop this from happening

I don’t understand, all of the dying
your purpose lost in war, killing’s not surviving
how can anyone live like this
I don’t know how you live like this

All these eyes are crying for lost souls, crying for hope
These eyes are asking me why we don’t stop, we don’t stop,
we don’t stop this from happening

don’t want to believe
we’re got this capacity
don’t see it happening to me
I’ll know it when I bleed
how can anyone live like this
I don’t know how you live like this
how can anyone live like this
I don’t know how you live like this

All these eyes are crying for lost souls, crying for hope
These eyes are asking me why we don’t stop, we don’t stop,
we don’t stop this from happening

2005-10-04T12:48:00.000-05:00

"You do it to yourself, you do, and that’s what really hurts”

A year on, and I’m still torn with questions from “the divorce.” Okay, so we never actually got married… I never even got the chance to ask her. But my mind was made up, I was going to ask her, I was ready to dive in and commit my life to her, and that’s what makes it hurt so much more. What I long for now is no longer the person. That girl, that name, that person who once stole my heart is no longer the same. This new person that she’s become doesn’t interest me, she’s changed in fundamental ways that make me question what I thought I knew about her, about us. But, It’s that connection we used to have, the relationship that used to define us that I miss, and wonder if I’ll ever have it that good again. She was my confidant, my sidekick, my muse, my inspiration. We literally made beautiful music together. People envied us. We could do anything. Will I ever find another girl whose voice made angels dance to the music we played? Will she drive me farther and higher than I ever imagined I could go? Will she know just how to make me smile when it seems like the world’s falling apart? Will she be sweet, compassionate, and strong? Maybe I’m expecting too much… but then again, I’ve had it that good, and I don’t think I could ever be satisfied with less. I miss those good times, but at the same time I know that I can’t go back to them so I keep going in hopes that it might happen again, eventually. And next time I’ll know better than to fuck it up like I did.

Relations and Communications

2005-09-27T11:29:00.000-05:00

What do you want, what do I think, how do we feel, where are we going? So many blind spots leave me wondering how we survive, crawling around in the dark. Talk it out, know thyself, reflect before thinking, think before doing, but don’t spend all your time thinking lest you forget to get to the doing. Seek not your expectations in others, but know that you’re only satisfying those of a few. We talk. We play with ideas as if slowly giving and taking parts of ourselves in a slow construction of understanding, maybe if the other fits our image we trust, maybe they disappoint us and we hate them for what we despise in ourselves. Why relate except to seek happiness, maybe only to find a mirror in the other in order to make sense of parts of ourselves. And when that mirror disagrees with our mind who’s to blame? A friend, a relation, a person, a bond, fragile, tenable. Which version is the truth, the one you built up, or the one you see once it’s all fallen down? Like busy termites we eat and tear at the constructions of misperception, misunderstanding, to reconcile what is with what we see, and hope for balance. Am I what you see, do you see what I am? What candle do we hold to this darkness of oblivion but communication? But where do we learn to communicate but by accident, by consequence of living in community? Norms, identity, expectation, perception, labels, values, these all come from the “common” experience which is entirely unique for every individual. But what if our common experience is entirely uncommon and unshared? This confusion, this stumbling of minds falling over each other. Can we not still nurture the flame and fight back the darkness together?

Today in the News

2005-09-26T12:27:00.000-05:00

BBC: IRA ‘Has Destroyed All its Arms’
USA Today: Spain Convicts 24 for Terrorism, involvement in 9/11
SwissInfo: Jailing of Jazeera reporter in Spain draws ire
NY Times: Bush May Tap Oil Reserves Mulls Naming Reconstruction Czar
Independent: how multinational drug companies took liberties with African lives
IHT: Leadership battle enters 2nd week in Germany
SMH: Japan drafts plan for attack by China
Taipei Times: British troops to begin Iraq pullout next May: report
HRW: New Accounts of Torture by U.S. Troops

Gutenberg Opened Pandora's Box

2005-09-23T11:38:00.000-05:00

Thinking about the dynamics of communication technology and what it does to communication lately… it’s odd, I use my computer to trade information with the world in so many ways, e-mail, news-mail, news pages, msn, and now blogging. But I wonder how these new kinds of communication have changed the way I relate to people. I have friends that I talk to more because they’re on msn and we just happen to “run into” each other online, and I have people whose emails I’ve had for years but we rarely even say hello.
I think a part of the general confusion, or disconnect I feel has to do with how I’m actually communicating with people now. When we talk in person we can read so much: posture, facial expression, tone, tempo, inflection; and we have a unique rhythm of turn-taking that makes for dialogue. But in these new media all of those are thrown into confusion. If my friend is online and she doesn’t say hi is she ignoring me? If I’m in a hurry and can’t talk will you think I don’t want to talk?
We’ll never know, unelss we talk about the way we talk. But then it gets into this oddly uncomfortable meta-dialogue on talking about talking that seems to diminish the overall experience. But it’s exactly that kind of discussion that helps us understand why people do the things they do. Without communicating about communicating how will we ever know what’s being said?
The problem, then, is one of whether or not there are social norms, or rules, about the way certain kinds of converstion happen in certain media. But it’s all so new that these norms are all just being developed in the haphazard way that any new social convention is built. So we stumble about wondering if someone’s “brb” (be right back) on an instant message is a brush-off or a bathroom break, or a sick grandmother on the phone. And what if your mood changes from one conversation to another, not because of what you think of the person, but because your mood, or health, or level of distraction changed.
These are all things that seem somehow, at least for the time being, easier to understand in the physical presence of someone, but then again we have learning to do there, too. So how do we work these new tools into our pre-existing social structure?
-joel

Today in the News

2005-09-22T08:36:00.000-05:00

CBC: Hurricane Rita is now Category 5 – US Gulf Coast Braces for Another Beating
Reuters: Oil tops $68 a Barel
BBC: EU Drops Bid to Refer Iran to Security Council
Swissinfo: Ukraine Parliament Backs New PM
IRIN: Sudanese President Swears in New Government of National Unity

Today in the News

2005-09-21T06:33:00.000-05:00

Globe & Mail: Plan for Urban Reserve Divides Winnipeggers

The former Canada Packers site is being eyed for potential development as Winnipeg’s first urban reserve. The site would be used for first nations businesses which would be exempted from paying taxes due to their status. Though supported by Mayor Sam Katz, the deal leaves many winnipeggers, particularly local businesses, unsettled.

BBC: Indonesia fears bird flu epidemic

Indonesia could soon face a bird flu epidemic, the health minister has warned, after the death of a young girl suspected of having the disease. Source unclear, leading fear of an epidemic.

STL Today: U.S. deaths in Iraq top 1,900

Today In the News

2005-09-20T10:56:00.000-05:00

Every day I do a crawl of the various news sites you see linked on this page. Whenever I have the time to compile it I’ll offer up a quick summary of some of the major headlines and important stories of the day.

NY Times: US-N.Korea Deal on Arms Leaves Key Points Open

Questions remain as to whether a tenable settlement has been reached, as parties to the negotiations disagree over some of the agreement’s clauses. Notably: whether or not North Korea will be allowed to keeps its peaceful nuclear power plants.

Boston Globe: As another storm looms, New Orleans halts reentry

Concerned over Hurricane Rita, about to make landfall, Mayor reverses stance on repopulation of New Orleans.

IHT: After a Nearly Tied Election, Germany’s Big Parties Meet to Discuss Coalition

AFP: Iran warns it could quit nuclear treaty, issues oil threat

Using its oil production as leverage, Iran has warned that it will withdraw from the Nuclear NPT if its case is brought before the Security Council. Iran claim its nuclear program is purely peaceful.

SwissInfo: Afghans count votes, al Qaeda rejects poll "farce"
IRIN: Voter Turnout Low, but good for a post-conflict situation

SwissInfo: World has slim chance to stop flu pandemic

SARS was easy, this could kill millions.

Kofi Annan calls UN Summit “A Glass Half Full”

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in an op-ed piece, tries to save what remains of the UN Summit’s watered-down outcome document, claiming it to be “a remarkable expression of world unity.”

Have a good one,
-joel

On Unfinished Thoughts

2005-09-19T13:14:00.000-05:00

(A Little Hop, A Growing Wagon… But Where’s the Band?)
They say all things have a beginning, but I’d like to think that this blog has grown out of many other things. The fact that you’re reading it, however, marks a milestone. I’ve finally hopped onto this wobbly, growing bandwagon, as if I’m another weary traveller carving his name into the splinters of a tree. Steve inspired me with this thought:
“I have thoughts, and images that float around in my head with no home […] They belong to the world that created them.” (http://fuzzyscorner.blogspot.com/). In this vein I’ve decided to return my unfinished thoughts to the world to see what it does with them. And that’s where you might play a part. I think one of the most underused parts of the internet is the ability to communicate in a variety of ways. We’ve only recently started to realize the potential inherent in all this technology. And with communication comes something lost in the era of newspapers and television: DIALOGUE. Information and ideas should be shared, however unpolished and unfinished they might be, so that we may develop a richer understanding of the world around us. So I want you to comment on the things you will find here, I want you to tell me about things you think are important, and I want you to help me turn this internal dialogue inside out. Criticize me, challenge me, and maybe on occasion praise me. You can even go ahead and use me, but I’d be happiest of all if you’d just tell me, honestly, what you’re thinking… and I’ll keep trying to do the same.
-joel

joel marion (dot) blogspot (dot) com

Exploring Canada's Role in the World

Bayamulenge Tutsi Community in Congo Threatened with Genocide

Podcast Production

Habermas must just love this stuff

Don't read this if you don't want to know how horrible War really is

10,000 Days

"He's Just Not That Into Ewe" - Gay Science and Sheep

What's that light?

Sabre Rattling Again

happy holiday?

a Digital Apocalypse

FW: email from myself...

the learning never ends

music

Update

Blogwatch: Fukuyama on Democracy Building

a quick thank you..

Election Observers Left Holding their Breath

Blogsite Reformat

Thai King Legitimizes Coup

Thai generals cement grip, Thaksin urges unity

Thai Coup Attempt

Electoral Calendar Confirmed

Some great borrowed pics

Financing

Photos, finally!

An Excerpt from the Journal

Safe Return

Crazy Travel

Under the Radar

Professor Joel

Mental Exhaustion, Drumming, and Orphans

Please Read this Article

A Nation Holds it's Breath

Ah, the Smell of Burning Garbage in the Morning

Congo election shows worrying East-West divide

A Good article on the Democratic Transition

"Struggle for a Functioning Congo"Jason Stearns and Michela Wrong

Beginning Phase Two

an encounter with Kinshasa police

DRC Living up to its Name

First Signs of Election Stress

Day Six

Welcome to Kinshasa

New Congo News Section

Four Days to Go

I have seen what flood can come from the rains

Stephen Colbert has big brass balls

The Chicken in the Egg

Sick of Being Broken

sometimes I hate technology

A New Look

Eco-Footprint for Earth Day

Rattling Nuclear Sabres

Pandora's Music box

Books

Next Show: March 30th with Steve Baria

on being resolute

Christmas Show!

a ramble to fill the time

to hoot or not to hoot

ramblings on conflict

More Good News

Crazy Schoolness

Congo Expo Show

Today in the News

Today in the News

This is the Downside of Freedom that No One Wants to Talk About

THESE EYES

Relations and Communications

Today in the News

Gutenberg Opened Pandora's Box

Today in the News

Today in the News

Today In the News

On Unfinished Thoughts

"Struggle for a Functioning Congo"
Jason Stearns and Michela Wrong