Ghana on The Huffington Post

Ghana's Lottery Predictors

2009-11-24T11:50:14Z

ACCRA, Ghana -- William Galley hasn't always been a lottery "forecaster." He used to lug concrete blocks around construction sites but he calls that work tedious.

Jim Luce: NBC's Brian Williams: Changing the World for the Better

2009-11-13T16:39:22Z

Several weeks ago Brian
Williams profiled the children of the Afghan Child Education and Care
Organization (AFCECO) and its founder Andeisha Farid in Kabul, Afghanistan for NBC Nightly News’ segment Making a Difference (video).

Brian is anchor and
managing editor of the NBC Nightly News
based in New York. Last week, his show, including
the segment Making a Difference, had
9.5 million viewers. The show spikes up
to 11 million viewers frequently.

I had interviewed the
orphanage’s founder Andeisha of Kabul in New York in September and have followed
her progress carefully. I knew immediately
that Brian’s focus would have an enormous impact on her good work.

As founder of Orphans International Worldwide, I am familiar
with running homes for children around the world – and the difficult task of
raising the fund necessary to do so.

What I did not grasp
about the piece on Making a Difference was
what an enormous difference it would
make – with so many contributions that flooded over the Internet to fund the
kids there from Brian’s generous viewers.
He thanked them the following week (video).

I wanted to speak with
Brian about how good that must make him feel – and how this sense of
responsibility must now shape his life – so I asked him to call me, and he did. Brian told me:

I was
really revved to do a piece on this orphanage in Afghanistan. I wanted it to be seen by as many people as
possible – and luckily it was. I was so
grateful – we raised much more for those children than we had thought possible.

I do
pieces on different topics. We were in
Kabul when there was a huge loss of life at the U.N. and I wanted to do a story
after that which was ‘nice and hopeful.’
We had one day to do this feature piece, and it all just came together.

Sitting
there in our rental house in Kabul, I realized I had a personal enough relationship
with our viewers – who I felt could be very generous – to ask them to help
these kids. And they did!

The
cultural differences and similarities in the orphanage were enormous. Little girls are little girls anywhere in the
world. Thank God I have parented two
children, so it was the most natural of moments.

Switching
glasses with them, seeing them draw stars and hearts… The children were so tactile, kind, loving,
affectionate, and gracious.

I saw a
picture of Paul Stevers there on the wall, the founder of CharityHelp International
in the U.S. that provides a bridge between child sponsors and the children
there.

The kids
had a politeness, and order, a discipline – not like in Annie, but an attitude of accepting real responsibility – the way I
was raised. It was so real.

On his blog, Brian had
posted the following after his viewers had been so generous:

I want to
say thank you -- and to express my ongoing appreciation at the amazing
generosity of our viewers. We did a
follow-up on the orphanage in Afghanistan.

I was only
home from work for a few hours when we learned they had already received 500
e-mails from Nightly News viewers -- many of them offering donations and
pledges to sponsor a child.

It is
immensely gratifying, and I’m beyond words in expressing my thanks and appreciation
on behalf of the lovely children we met over there.

Brian Williams received individualized cards
from each of the children in Kabul.

“Although some are
one-time gifts, our experience tells us that many of the child sponsors will
continue to give for the next few years so the benefits of Brian’s efforts are
very substantial and will enable AFCECO to care for many more children,” Paul
Stevers, founder of CharityHelp
International, told me.

CharityHelp
International is the Internet bridge that connects the children to child
sponsors around the world. Orphans
International Worldwide, the charity I founded, relies on CharityHelp to fund
our kids in Haiti, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.

“Security is an enormous
issue in Kabul,” Brian told me. “In
Kabul, importance is measured by the size of your gate and the number of guns
you have. I hope the orphanage there will
be able to spend more on security,” Brian added.

Clearly, the segment Making a Difference is making a
difference. From one night a week, the
segment now airs up to five times a week.

“It was my wife’s idea,
honestly,” Brian shared. “With the
economy sinking, she said, ‘Someone, somewhere is doing spectacular acts of
kindness – go capture them!’ And we
did,” Brian told me.

Making a Difference features mostly ordinary people, although it
has begun to also focus on celebrities using their visibility to also help
humanity.

Quintessential thought leaders
and global citizen Brian Williams on the streets of Kabul.

Brian replaced Tom
Brokaw, one of his mentors, in 2004. Previously,
Brian was the network’s chief White House correspondent and host of The News with Brian Williams on CNBC and
MSNBC.

After studying at
college, Brian took an internship with the administration of President Jimmy
Carter. He holds an honorary doctor of
humane letters degree from one of my favorite schools, Bates College, and an
honorary Doctor of Journalism degree from Ohio State University.

NBC Night News anchor Brian Williams
frequently reports from Afghanistan.

Brian is the most
honored network evening news anchor. He
has received four Edward R. Murrow awards, his fifth Emmy award, the
DuPont-Columbia University award and the industry's highest honor, the George
Foster Peabody award.

Most were given for his
work in New Orleans while covering Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, and all
were awarded to Brian in only his second year on the job.

Brian Williams of NBC Nightly
News with Afghani children in Kabul.

Brian was the first and
only network evening news anchor to report from New Orleans before Hurricane
Katrina hit and was the only network news anchor to report from the Superdome
during the storm. He remained in New Orleans to report on the aftermath and
destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

In 2006, Brian joined
Bono, traveling to three countries in Africa — Nigeria, Mali, and Ghana — to
report on the major issues facing the continent, including HIV/AIDS, poverty,
disease, and crushing debt.

In 1994, Brian was named
NBC News Chief White House correspondent. Accompanying President Clinton aboard
Air Force One, Brian circled the world several times, covering virtually every
foreign and domestic trip by the President until 1996.

On perhaps one of the
most historic trips of the Clinton presidency, Brian was the only television
news correspondent to accompany three U.S. presidents — Clinton, Bush, and
Carter — to Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in Israel.

Brian is a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations in New York, and is also a member of the Board of
Directors of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. He has lectured at Columbia University School
of Journalism and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin,
Texas.

In 2007, Brian was
listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most
Influential People in The World. He
lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife, Jane Stoddard Williams.

There is a reason “When
breaking news happens, America turns to NBC
Nightly News with Brian Williams."
America trusts Brian the way we once trusted Walter Cronkite.

“Walter Cronkite was the
architect for what this show has become,” Brian told me. “Walter’s level of professionalism is what I
strive for every day.”

“I have been luckier
than most two have had two North Stars to follow – Walter Cronkite and Tom
Brokaw,” Brian admitted.

Like Walter and Tom, Brian
is the quintessential thought leaders and global citizen – and has thousands of
fans on Facebook
from around the world to prove it.

Today Brian Williams has
an enormous power – and a parallel responsibility – to help humanity.

Luckily for all of us, he
knows this well – and is highly focused on doing all that he can in his
position to change our world for the better.

Switzerland, Slovakia qualify for World Cup

2009-10-14T17:26:46Z

— Switzerland and Slovakia earned Europe's final two automatic berths for next year's World Cup on Wednesday night, while Argentina tried to beat out Uruguay and Ecuador for South America's last certain spot in the 32-nation field.

Costa Rica played at the United States, which clinched its sixth straight berth last weekend, and the Ticos hoped to stay ahead of Honduras and gain the final automatic place from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Portugal, Greece, Slovenia and Ukraine finished second in their groups and joined Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, Ireland and Russia in the European playoffs. They will be drawn into four pairs on Monday, and the winners of home-and-home, total-goals matches on Nov. 14 and 18 will qualify for next year's 32-nation field.

By the end of Wednesday, 23 of the 32 nations will have been determined for next year's tournament in South Africa.

In addition to the U.S., Mexico had ensured a berth in CONCACAF, while Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Serbia and Spain had clinched automatic berths in Europe. Brazil, Chile and Paraguay had earned berths from South America, and Australia, Japan, North Korea and South Korea won Asia's spots. Ghana and Ivory Coast joined host South Africa, which qualified automatically as host.

At Basel, Switzerland qualified for its second straight World Cup, clinching with a 0-0 tie against Israel.

Eliminated by Ukraine on penalty kicks in the second round at the 2006 tournament, Switzerland (6-1-3) extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches and finished atop Group Two with 21 points. Greece (6-2-2), which won 2-1 against visiting Luxembourg (1-7-2), was one point back in second.

"This qualification means a lot to me," Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said. "Now we are with the best teams in the world. But first we want to enjoy this evening."

At Chorzow, Slovakia qualified for its first World Cup, beating Poland 1-0 on a third-minute own goal by defender Seweryn Gancarczyk, who attempted to clear a cross but kicked the ball past goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.

"It was an unlucky play," Dudek said. "It took a bad bounce, and it was bad luck to surrender an own goal so early."

Before it split into two nations, Czechoslovakia appeared in every World Cup from 1930-90 and lost the final in 1934 and 1962. Czechoslovakia also won the 1976 European Championship.

Slovakia (7-2-1) won Group Three with 22 points, while Slovenia (6-2-2) finished second with 20 following a 3-0 win at San Marino and will go to the European playoffs.

After getting eliminated in the first round of the 2006 World Cup despite an opening 3-0 win over the United States, the Czech Republic failed to qualify for next year's tournament. The Czechs (4-2-4) finished third in Group Three.

At Guimares, Portugal won its third straight qualifier as Nani scored one goal and assisted on another.

Simao Sabrosa, Miguel Veloso and Edinho also scored for Portugal (5-1-4), which finished second in Group One with 19 points, two behind Denmark (6-1-3).

Nani started in place of FIFA player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, who injured an ankle in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Hungary. Nani scored on a left-footed volley in the 14th minute, Sabrosa doubled the lead in the 45th and Veloso scored off Nani's cross in the 52nd. Edinio scored in the 90th.

At Wembley, Peter Crouch scored in the fourth and 76th minutes, David Beckham assisted on Shaun Wright-Phillips' 59th-minute goal after entering as a second-half substitute and England (9-1) completed qualifying with a 3-0 victory over Belarus.

At Parma, Alberto Gilardino scored in the 78th, 81st and 90th minutes, rallying defending champion Italy (7-0-3) over Cyprus 3-2. Cyprus had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Ioannis Okkas in the 12th minute and Chrysostomos Michail in the 48th.

At Hamburg, Lukas Podolski scored in the 90th minute, giving Germany (8-0-2) a 1-1 tie against Finland, which had gone ahead on Jonatan Johansson's goal in the 11th minute.

At Zenica, European champion Spain (10-0) completed a perfect qualifying campaign with a 5-2 victory at Bosnia-Herzegovina as Alvaro Negredo scored twice, and Gerard Pique, David Silva and Juan Manuel Mata got one goal each.

At Saint-Denis, Karim Benzema, Thierry Henry and Andre-Pierre Gignac scored for France (6-1-3) in a 3-1 win over Austria.

Venkat Srinivasan: Aching for Immigration Reform

2009-10-02T11:16:05Z

It was a quiet and dull late August evening in 2008 both inside and outside Eye Adom African restaurant in the Bronx. The kitchen was teeming with prepared food and underutilized staff. Yet, beyond all the empty tables, Efo, the Ghanaian-American owner, sat excitedly, smiling at the live telecast of the Democratic National Convention. Efo had set up a projector for the occasion.

President Barack Obama was accepting the Democratic presidential nomination then, with a rousing speech in front of over 80,000 supporters at the Invesco Field in Denver. Efo toggled between MSNBC's and CNN's broadcasts during commercial breaks to be certain he missed nothing.

His face went through cycles of worry and excitement. Slouching on the table, propping his head up with his hands, he kept staring at the restaurant entrance. "Business has been slow all day. Usually lots of regular customers come in by this time," he trailed off, before eyeing the telecast again. "Will Obama keep his word?"

Efo voted for Obama. He was convinced even before the President's Democratic nomination that Obama was going to win the elections in November. But he just wasn't sure what lay ahead for the country in the years to come.

Long after the political marathon and now in the midst of a hesitant economy and difficult health care debate, it is understandable that thousands like Efo will probably be anxious for a while.

Africans aren't quite the political swing factor in the country yet: There aren't many, and many can't vote either. But they are emblematic of the shifting dynamic in the American political arena and the influence of ethnic minorities.

African immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, root for Obama. While the economy dominates all issues, ethnic minorities continue to hope that immigration reform does not fade into oblivion either. Their confidence in his policies often mirror Obama's inspirational call for change and hope that he will be the catalyst for immigration reform.

Political restrictions in their own countries of origin sometimes play a part in that optimism. But if asked, they bluntly dismiss Obama's African roots. "It's not because he's black," insisted Obed, a Ghanaian college student living in Queens. "He has vision, he's young." These themes are likely to repeat themselves in the years to come as the nation grasps the meaning of its multi-ethnicity.

George Onuorah, a Nigerian-American who is the founder and president of a non-profit youth empowerment organization, was one of the Obama campaign's many grassroots supporters. To him, Obama's African origins were not to be misconstrued as support for Africa. He is convinced that President Obama will view the world as a diverse place.

The diverse African community -- voters, non-voters and undocumented residents alike -- was involved strongly in election volunteering for Obama despite being largely invisible to the country. "Every day I earn points on the Obama campaign," said Titi, a fashion designer from Togo, a week before Election Day last year. "I've already earned 1000 points." He wasn't eligible to vote but kept immigration issues alive in the grassroots. The economy is tied to immigration in a vicious cycle, he emphasized.

Undocumented immigrants have been routinely deported in the past years, leaving behind families without a bread-winner and therefore, marginalized.

By 1996, non-citizens with an invalid immigration status were deported as mandatory punishment. So even if judges feels an alien father needs to stay to support his U.S.-born children, they are bound by law to execute the order to deport the father. The children then essentially have to choose between a parent and an alien country. The spouse, if a citizen, may not find a job and their children may be forced to find drugs and gangs - paths with unfavorable futures in an uncertain economy, Titi says. These families become dependent on public money, in an already deflated economy.

Not surprisingly then, immigration reform is the fueling undercurrent in the community. "I think the immigrant community will always support anyone who will provide amnesty to them," said Mohammed Nurhussein, the national chairman of the United African Congress. Rep. Jose Serrano from New York's 16th District introduced the "Child Citizen Protection Act" in 2007. It stated that a judge should be allowed discretionary powers to decide whether an alien parent of a U.S. citizen child should be deported or not. The bill is currently under review by House subcommittee.

These efforts by politicians and activists reflect the growing need to assimilate immigrant populations that remain off the official census. The 2006 American Community Survey states that almost 112,000 people of African origin legally live in New York City, largely fueled by the visa lottery. But another 360,000 of the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are also primarily from Africa, according to a Pew Hispanic Center report. Newer immigrant communities will be watching the Obama administration's moves closely.

Paule-Sylvie Yonke, a community organizer in New York City, emphasized that citizenship wasn't a precursor for political action, and sometimes, the lack of it only made people more active in the hope for reform. "You don't have to be a U.S. citizen to write letters and generate enthusiasm," she said. Yonke, an American of Cameroonian origin, felt that the basic ability to voice opinions freely in the U.S. counted for something for those who might be coming from countries with restrictions on freedom of speech. "It is part of human condition," she said. "When you have room to breathe, you do breathe."

The political climate in the U.S. is the antithesis of what these immigrants might see in their countries of origin. In Cameroon for instance, Paul Biya has held onto the presidency since 1982 and the government has been riddled with corruption and dictatorship charges. And those who do voice their opinions have it hard. In April 2008, Cameroon's government arrested Lapiro de Mbanga, a popular singer-songwriter, for criticizing President Biya's controversial amendments to the country's constitution.

"In Africa, the president is like king," said Mamadou Kone, who is originally from Cote d'Ivoire. "He has everything. If you talk, the next day you're dead." Much like children in families across the country then, African non-voters influenced others to cast off their political apathy. Kone was one of those who brought voters in to vote for Obama, with some hope for global change. Though Kone didn't think Obama's rise to presidency changed politics in Cote d'Ivoire, he expected it to give hope to its younger generation.

It is an optimism that people across America often cited when pressed for a reason for their vote in the previous elections. "The change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington," said Obama, in that Democratic Convention speech that Efo was watching. Delivering his victory speech in Chicago in November 2008, he was more somber, acutely aware of what lay ahead. "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep," he said. "We may not get there in one year or even in one term."

Kone and others hope that the climb includes immigration issues, though it may not be foremost on Obama's mind today. Obama, on his part, has also been forced to emphasize that caution repeatedly in the months since taking office.

Hope is an infectious, sometimes blinding pill. But it is paramount to the President that Americans apply his message of hope and change. He exhorts the public to not just believe in his ability to bring change but to start digging into their own reserves. "I'm asking you to believe in yours," he often says.

As ethnic minorities watch the country resurrect itself from the economic crisis, it is a statement he would hope fellow Americans like Efo as well as thousands of hopeful immigrants don't forget.

West Africa: Flooding Claims 187 Lives, Says UN

2009-09-22T13:29:46Z

DAKAR (AFP) Flash floods have claimed 187 lives and affected 635,273 people in west Africa since the rainy season started in June, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced on Tuesday.

Floods Hit 350,000 In West Africa: UN

2009-09-04T08:54:16Z

Some 350,000 people in West Africa have been affected by serious flooding, the United Nations said Friday, noting that "significant" rainfall has lashed the region this year.

David Lane: Tough Talk on Africa is a Two-Way Street

2009-08-12T12:11:54Z

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has offered up some tough talk on her seven-nation, 11 day trip to Africa. While it's caused some discomfort among African statesman, it's precisely what citizens throughout the continent, particularly young Africans, have been demanding from their leaders.

Building on President Obama's recent speech in Ghana, Secretary Clinton has made it clear that America has no tolerance for the corruption and impunity that has sadly plagued the independence generation in many African states. "Leaders have to lead. They have to demonstrate to their people that democracy does deliver," Clinton stated in Kenya on the first leg of her tour. It's a message that puts wind in the sails of a rising generation of Africans who are unwilling to accept the status quo. They're demanding jobs, accountability and tangible results from their leaders. They're similarly frustrated with donors that reward bad behavior with unaccountable and ineffective aid.

As President Obama said in Egypt and Ghana, democratic and economic development go hand-in-hand. Good governance, transparent leadership and control of corruption are critical components for a prosperous nation; it is equally true that democracy is difficult when a country can't develop because it's stuck in extreme poverty, when citizens aren't empowered through education, and when families, communities and businesses are torn apart by deaths from preventable diseases like malaria and AIDS.

Poor countries that are committed to stable, accountable governance are typically committed to improving the lives of their citizens. Take Ghana for example, a country I recently visited. Ghana has seen five consecutive, peaceful transitions of power, the latest decided by fewer than 40,000 votes. As Ghana's commitment to transparent governance and rule of law has deepened, development and growth have taken hold. Ghana has posted close to 5% annual growth for the last two decades, increased primary school enrollment rates for boys and girls over 20% from 2004 to 2008 and has nearly halved its poverty rate since 1992.

But tough talk goes both ways--and many African leaders are similarly tired of business as usual. As the leaders of Senegal, Liberia, Rwanda and Botswana recently articulated in a Forbes op-ed, "Africa seeks not patrons but collaborators who will work 'with' rather than 'for' the continent." They want equal partnership, not North-South patronage. What does that mean? It means we must improve our development assistance so that it's transparent and accountable to the Africans it's designed to serve. Equally important, it means complementing this aid with our full array of non-aid tools--strengthening trade through the removal of barriers, working with Africa to increase trade capacity and to encourage trade between African countries, providing loan guarantees to attract more foreign direct investment and financing for low-cost energy infrastructure, and taking meaningful action to hunt down Africa's looted assets. The Millennium Challenge Corporation, started during the Bush Administration, and the Obama Administration's new long-term agriculture initiative unveiled at the G8 in July, are strong examples of a comprehensive approach that puts developing countries in the driver's seat.

When equal partnership works, we've seen what it can do. Smart development investments and strong African leadership have led to remarkable breakthroughs in the fight against extreme poverty and infectious disease: 34 million additional African children have now seen the inside of a classroom, malaria rates have been halved in Rwanda and Ethiopia, and approximately 3.2 million Africans now have access to life-saving AIDS medicine, up from only 50,000 in 2002. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the U.S.'s duty-free trade program with Africa, has also created 200,000 jobs and increased imports from sub-Saharan Africa to the U.S. more than three-fold from 2001 to 2007.

Africa's been hit hard by the global economic crisis, rising food prices and climate change. So to make sure the continent's progress isn't completely overturned, it's time for Africa and the U.S. to step up. It's time for African leaders to listen to their citizens' calls for more jobs, greater transparency and better standards of living. It's also time for the U.S. to treat Africa like a true partner, focusing on better trade, effective aid and a stronger emphasis on investments. In order for this relationship to work, it must be a two-way street.

Reporters Uncensored: Corruption and Money Vs. The Environment

2009-08-05T14:39:06Z

Reporters Uncensored (RUTV)
Behind the Global Web series

-- Tala Dowlatshahi (Creator and United States Correspondent)

We are a month into the show. Iranian-Americans like me have spent the last several weeks protesting the election outcome against some tough and brutal odds. Last week, innocent people were beaten by police at the grave site of Neda -- the symbol of this "green" movement. And tomorrow, the President will be sworn in for another term against the wishes of more than half his own government. And the trials of Iranian protesters and political prisoners this month have the international human rights community in an uproar, labeling the proceedings an illegal sham.   Reporters Uncensored (RUTV) will be presenting news on Iran weekly in our program. We want to keep you all posted on the week by week chaos, as it unfolds.

Our main topic this coming week will be the broad theme of corruption. We will look at corruption within governments and multinational corporations and the effects on the environment.   Olajobi Makinwa, Issues Manager for Anti Corruption at the UN's Global Compact will join us in studio to set the scene on global environmental corruption and what the Compact is doing to protect the planet.   Corrupt practices are heavily impacting the environment and devastating indigenous communities.

The UN's Global Compact lists corruption as one of the world's greatest challenges and costs the world one trillion dollars per day. The group states:

"It is a major hindrance to sustainable development, with a disproportionate impact on poor communities and is corrosive on the very fabric of society. The impact on the private sector is also considerable -- it impedes economic growth, distorts competition and represents serious legal and reputational risks."

Tomorrow night, we will underscore how economic greed breeds corrupt governments and increases environmental risks including land degradation, waste production and depletion of natural resources. We will focus on the Peruvian government, which has signed in new laws that encourage foreign mining in the rain forest. We want to know whether multinationals are seeking short term gains at long term costs to indigenous communities. And what role is the current president Alan Garcia playing in abetting these practices? Are his free trade policies endangering his country's natural resources? To answer some of these questions, we will run a clip from RUTV's Youth Correspondent, Nicolas Tami Landa on the complaints voiced by Amazonian indigenous peoples against the government. Nicolas will be joining us right after via skype in Peru to talk about his investigation.    

We will then move on to talk more in-depth abut Ghana and the oil boom. Are the government's current actions against local fisherman illegal? RUTV's Africa/Political Analyst Omoyele Sowore traveled to the country last month to cover US President Obama's visit--but his interest was also sparked by a visit to a local fisherman's village to document the corruption that goes on in the fight for oil. Ghana is on the verge of an oil boom. Nearly 20 billion expected by the year 2030. But 80 percent of Ghana's population live on less than 2 US dollars per day.  

 It will be interesting to hear from our guests about the role governments and multinational corporations play in this global game of corruption. We're live at 6pm (EDT) Wednesday and on demand at www.livestream.com/reportersuncensored.

Obama Texts Africans: Follow Hillary

2009-08-03T14:04:33Z

Ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's seven-nation trip to Africa this week, the Obama administration is texting all Africans (or non-Africans in Africa, like this reporter) who sent a question or comment during last month's Ghana visit.

Rep. Robert Wexler's Ghanian Extortionist Detained By Secret Service

2009-07-31T13:58:18Z

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The U.S. Secret Service says a man is being held in the West African nation of Ghana after attempting to extort money from U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler.

The Florida Democrat called authorities several weeks ago after he was contacted by a suspect who had Social Security numbers for him and his wife. Wexler told authorities the man attempted to extort money from him and threatened to turn over the personal information to identity thieves.

Behind The Scenes With The Obamas: Moscow, Italy, Ghana (PHOTOS)

2009-07-25T18:21:44Z

New behind the scenes photos came out today from the President and First Lady's travels to Moscow, Italy and Ghana. See Barack and Sasha tour the Kremlin, Michelle meet the Pope, and much more. Enjoy.

Dutch Return Severed Head Of King Badu Bonsu II To His Descendants In Ghana 171 Years Later

2009-07-23T13:49:53Z

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The descendants of an African chief who was hanged and decapitated by a Dutch general 171 years ago reluctantly accepted the return of his severed head Thursday, still angry even as the Dutch tried to right a historic wrong.

The head of King Badu Bonsu II was discovered last year in a jar of formaldehyde gathering dust in the anatomical collection of the Leiden University Medical Center. The Dutch government agreed to Ghanaian demands that the relic be returned.

Shawn Rubin: My Letter to the President

2009-07-15T12:35:27Z

Dear President Obama,

Earlier this week I listened to your speech before Ghana's parliament. I heard you address the leaders and citizens of Africa through inspirational calls for action:

"You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities, and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, end conflicts, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can. Because in this moment, history is on the move."

I was excited to hear you bring to light African grassroots efforts to make change, and I hope you will continue to be an advocate for all struggling African social entrepreneurs who are working hard to improve the situation in their homes and communities.

I am writing to you today to tell you about one incredible Ghanaian man who lives less than than fifteen miles from where you delivered your historic address. His name is Meshach Bondzie, and in his community of Abeka, Ghana he is a lone warrior in Ghana's fight to educate its impoverished youth.

For years Meshach lived through the challenges of not being able to afford his own education. Eventually, he was able to secure a secretarial degree by working and subsidizing his courses. Once his degree was completed Meshach was bothered by the overwhelming number of promising young men and women in his community who were wasting away without a chance at a high school education. In 2000, Meshach started his own school called the PROFESA Secretarial Academy to help bring free and reduced education to his home town.

As I'm sure you are already aware, Ghana does not supply free high school education to its citizens. According to Unicef less than 39% of Ghana's students make it past the fifth grade. Most of Ghana's struggling children are forced to stop school to sell water and other goods on street corners under the hot West African sun.

Meshach created PROFESA as a low-cost option for education. His school charges less than half of what Ghana's poorly run public high schools charge, and most of the students who attend his classes do so on full or partial scholarship. Meshach is an inspirational teacher who does everything without a paycheck, without benefits, without supplies, and without any local support network.

When you ask Meshach how he does this his reply is, "You can't waste your time here on this earth without doing anything. What you have to be able to do is impact life. To help people to stand on their feet."

I hope that during your trip to Ghana you were able to meet and interact with other wonderful social entrepreneurs like Meshach Bondzie. I hope that you were able to tell them in person how appreciative we are of the work they are doing under such difficult circumstances. I hope you told the politicians of Ghana that there are promising grassroots efforts and grassroots leaders like Meshach who need their support.

I am writing to you as the founder of Longitude, a US based 501(c)3 non-profit that helps to support Meshach's school and other underfunded social entrepreneurs around the world. During the four years that Longitude has been working in Ghana we have encountered tremendous political and governmental roadblocks that make Meshach's work even harder. Every dollar that he has to give up in bribes to the local postmaster, the local land magistrate, or the local education director is money that could be spent on textbooks, teacher salaries or computers.

I heard you call on African leaders to abandon these crippling bribes during your speech, but I hope that you will continue to encourage the leaders of Ghana to support the grassroots NGOs that exist within their country. Tell them about Meshach Bondzie and the hundreds of students who he has helped to educate when the government has not been able to do so. Please plead with them to encourage their people to stand up and support leaders like Meshach in his service to Ghana.

Thank you for all your efforts and your support of Africa. Your speech was wonderful, but please stay focused on helping those grassroots Africans who are already taking steps to make a difference. These are Africa's true leaders of the future. They are the ones who are doing the work for the benefit of the people not the benefit to their own pockets. Africa needs our help and our attention, but they will get farther once more Meshach Bondzies step up and receive the governmental support they so rightly deserve.

Thank you for your time,

Shawn Rubin

John Feffer: How Much Does the U.S. Empire Cost?

2009-07-14T15:49:27Z

When he travels abroad, Barack Obama is the consummate pitchman. He tells stories, he cracks jokes, he delivers mini-lectures with a light touch -- all in the service of selling product. It's not an easy job. Imagine trying to sell GM cars after Ralph Nader's attack on its Corvair in the 1960s, or shilling for Nestlé after the infant formula boycott of the 1970s and 1980s. Obama's product -- America -- has taken a beating in the marketplace over the last eight years or so. The president has to do some serious rebranding.

Like any good ad-man, Obama does two things. He makes the audience feel good. But the people listening to him must also feel that something is missing in their lives, something that only Obama and his product can give them. If I get his product, the potential consumer thinks, perhaps I'll be as young, handsome, talented, and powerful as he is.

In his address over the weekend to the Ghanaian parliament, the president was careful to emphasize that "Africa's future is up to Africans." The United States is all about respecting self-determination. "America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation," he intoned. "The essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny."

We're not telling you what to do, Obama insisted. But still, you have to get rid of your dictators, your corruption, and your bloody conflicts. And boy, do we have just the product for you!

Obama didn't "apologize for the CIA's role in overthrowing the democratically elected government of Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah in 1966 to satisfy Cold War strategic interests," as Foreign Policy In Focus contributor Charles Abugre recommended in What Obama Should Say in Africa. "While he's at it," Abugre writes, "he should apologize for the role the CIA played in removing Patrice Lumumba from power in 1960 and the resulting mess that is today's Democratic Republic of the Congo."

Obama saw no need to apologize for past product defects. He's not peddling the ugly old empire that tortured people at the Guantánamo detention facility and the Abu Ghraib prison, meddled in elections past, and is embroiled in its own bloody and expensive conflicts. It's Empire 2.0.

Well, of course, he didn't say "empire." That's what rebranding is all about. Consider what the president had to say about one of the new services that Empire 2.0 offers: the Pentagon's new U.S. African Command (AFRICOM). "Our Africa Command is focused not on establishing a foothold in the continent, but on confronting these common challenges to advance the security of America, Africa, and the world," Obama said.

Partnership sounds nice. But as FPIF contributor Gerald LeMelle argues in Revealing the Real Africa Policy, the administration's Africa agenda make "no reference to the recent FY 2010 budget that doubles the size of AFRICOM's funds. Nor does it mention the doubling of financial support for counterterrorism projects throughout the continent -- including increasing funds for weapons, military training, and education at a time when U.S. foreign aid money is stagnating."

And despite his pointed remarks against dictators and military conflicts, Obama neglected to mention Uganda, where AFRICOM supports the Ugandan People's Defense Forces (UPDF) with arms and training. "Northern Ugandans have innumerable stories about the abuses committed by the UPDF in their communities," writes FPIF contributor Beth Tuckey in Denouncing Dictatorship in Uganda. "Although the UPDF's behavior has been slightly better in recent years, it would be a mistake for the United States to train and equip such a force for combat. Museveni has shown no interest in relinquishing his presidency, and yet the United States continues to shower his so-called democracy with aid and military support."

Let's translate the ad-speak. Partnership means: We give you weapons and training and you give us oil. "The U.S. Africa Command claims to 'help Africans help themselves,'" FPIF co-director Emira Woods writes in Obama Visits Africa's 'Oil Gulf.' "The command lists humanitarian missions like dental clinics, building of schools, wells, etc. What is more opaque is the intent to train and arm proxy militaries that can secure and sustain the ever-present fix for the U.S. addiction to fossil fuels."

In Nigeria, which will soon provide up to one-quarter of all U.S. imported oil, the government recently launched a full-scale offensive against armed resistance groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta. The Nigerian government receives official military assistance from the United States, as well as tens of millions of dollars in commercial U.S. military sales. "Peaceful resistance of minority ethnic groups across the Niger Delta has been met with brutal military repression and the broken promises of oil companies, with no opportunity for dialogue or genuine negotiation in 50 years," writes FPIF contributor Kia Mistilis in Niger Delta Standoff. "In this environment, the armed resistance group, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta Peoples (MEND) emerged in 2006. The group targeted oil installations and caused a 40% drop in supply, from 2.4 million to 1.3 million barrels per day" (a 60-Second Expert version of her commentary is here).

So, the United States is indeed helping Africans help themselves...to natural resources and the labor of the disenfranchised.

And don't forget the fine print at the bottom that tells you about the hidden costs to the U.S. taxpayer for military partnerships and access to oil. After all, the new African Command is only the tip of the imperial iceberg. According to a new FPIF Special Report by Anita Dancs, the United States is spending a quarter of a trillion dollars every year to maintain a global military presence. That's $250 billion worth of troops, equipment, fleets, and bases.

"Military strategy documents ascribe the vast presence overseas to projecting power and countering threats outside of U.S. borders before they can enter within the border," Dancs writes in The Cost of the Global U.S. Military Presence. "But as potential threats become increasingly nonconventional, defending the nation requires better intelligence, international policing, diplomatic efforts, and international cooperation, not a large military presence that irritates regional sensitivities."

When he travels to Ghana and elsewhere, Obama isn't only selling America to Africans. He's selling the new and improved American empire to Americans. We're the ones who have to pony up the $250 billion annual fee for this global garrison.

And like any good sales rep, he doesn't give you the price up front. "Don't worry," he tells you, handing over a pen and the bill of sale. "You won't have to pay immediately. Heck, you won't even have to pay most of the debt. Those your kids over there? Let's just make an extra copy of this agreement for them...."

Crossposted from Foreign Policy In Focus, where you can read the full post.

To subscribe to FPIF's e-zine World Beat, click here.

Read more: Pentagon, Ghana, Empire, Africom, Obama, Africa, World News

Maternal Mortality Gets Obama Spotlight While Aid Dollars Decline

2009-07-14T12:14:35Z

A roomful of pregnant women waiting for their prenatal care appointments at La General Hospital in Accra, Ghana, got a treat on Saturday when President Barack Obama stopped by to compliment the hospital's maternal health services.

"Part of the reason this is so important is that throughout Africa, the rate of infant mortality but also maternal mortality is still far too high," Obama told the pool of reporters following him. Ghana's maternal mortality ratio is about 40 times that of the United States.

Obama's visit put the spotlight on a United Nation's Millenium Development Goal (MDG) that, according to a new report (PDF), has seen the least progress so far out of the collection of goals aimed at halving extreme poverty by 2015. The sluggish gains made in reducing maternal mortality over the past eight years - MDG 5 - may even be reversed, especially in the poverty-stricken countries of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In fact, the global economic crisis could hamper progress on all eight of the targets established by world leaders in this "blueprint for a better world."

"Maybe this is an opportunity," notes Francesca Perucci, chief of Statistical Planning and Development for the U.N. Statistical Division, which coordinated data gathering and preparation of the 2009 report. "Maybe donor countries will finally start giving attention to the message that is loud and clear: We don't see progress on MDG 5."

The halfway progress assessment shows that the developing world still accounts for 99 percent of women who die from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The U.N. and its partner agencies measure progress on maternal mortality by tracking cause of death and monitoring access to emergency obstetric care and prenatal visits. Over the last decade, the U.N. figures have barely changed.

So far, donor countries have expressed their intention to maintain the funding targets they set for the Millenium Development Goals in 2000, but the targets are a percentage of their gross domestic product and the actual dollar amount will be reduced as the economy contracts.

"You have to consider this is a time when the poorest countries will see their own internal domestic resources decrease, so they'll need additional money, not less," said Perucci. "If aid decreases, this will jeopardize any positive trends."

The limited resources have led agencies to focus on projects that deliver immediate results, such as purchasing and delivering bed nets to reduce malaria. This will likely mean less less funding for equipping hospitals with staff that can treat pregnancy complications.

"With maternal mortality, you have to rethink the overall health system. It's a lot more complicated," said Perucci. To reduce maternal mortality, the U.N. suggests building more hospitals, improving transportation systems so that women can reach them in time, and informing expectant mothers of what they need to do when complications arise.

Access to family planning services could also improve maternal health. Contraceptive access hovers around 22 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, and is especially limited in refugee camps. But even these programs may be hard to expand. The U.N. report points out that funding gaps for family planning programs have been conspicuous since the mid-1990s.

Read more from WideAngle.

Richard Chin: Comprehensive Global Health Strategy

2009-07-14T11:39:39Z

"We will fight -- we will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won't confront illnesses in isolation -- we will invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children." - President Barack Obama's speech Saturday in Accra, Ghana, as provided by the White House.   

While memories of President Obama speech in Ghana promising a "comprehensive, global health strategy" are fresh, we hope he, Ghanian President John Atta-Mills and other world leaders do not miss an opportunity to address the neglected disease that's one of the world's most pervasive killers of children worldwide -- childhood diarrheal disease.    

In Ghana, diarrhea accounts for 25 percent of all deaths in children under five and is among the top three reported causes of morbidity. Children under five typically have three to five episodes of diarrhea and a similar number of respiratory infections a year.    

Every day, approximately 4,500 poor children under the age of five in developing countries die from this wholly preventable and treatable disease that's been neglected not only by world leaders, but by the media and public as well.    

At OneWorld Health, we are working to discover and develop novel treatments for diarrheal disease that are safe, effective and affordable to even the poorest of the poor. We're making headway on this expensive, complex and time-intensive process by collaborating with our private sector, NGO and government partners.    

Now, our latest collaboration with our newest pharma partner, Novartis, is helping us discover and develop a novel therapy for secretory diarrhea. By leveraging Novartis' deep research on Cystic Fibrosis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome to discover and develop new compound series aimed at improving the treatment of diarrheal diseases, our aim is to greatly accelerate the drug development process.   

We encourage anyone who's concerned about the senseless number of childhood deaths caused by diarrheal diseases to support advocacy efforts to ensure that it's no longer a neglected disease and the development of affordable and accessible treatments for all.

Ghana Claims Michelle As A Favorite Daughter

2009-07-13T10:58:11Z

The entire population of Labadi and Labone, poor neighborhoods on the outskirts of this capital city's center, seemed to be flowing in one direction. Everyone was scurrying toward a single local landmark -- a two-story yam-colored building: La General Hospital. The president of the United States and first lady Michelle Obama were due to arrive there in a few hours on Saturday morning. A tide of people was advancing, moving with optimism and pride.

Kyle Hotchkiss Carone: How Obama's Ghana Visit Sets A New Tone In US-Africa Relations

2009-07-13T08:27:36Z

In the past forty years, African Americans have increasingly traveled to Africa in order to stand on the grounds that their ancestors were stolen from - actively passing through a door that slave traders vowed they would never return. On Friday and Saturday in Accra, throngs of Ghanaians enthusiastically received President Obama and his family to their country as they followed in the footsteps of so many African American families before them in returning to their perceived homeland. And while swarming crowds have followed Obama at almost every stop on his international travels, it was his reception in Ghana that speaks to the ways in which Obama's "Yes We Can" optimism may usher in a sea change in U.S.-African relations.

Over the past forty years, the relationship between Black Americans and the people of Africa has decreased in its political significance. While the cultural ties to Africa are surely in place, as evidenced in the popularity of Afrocentric traditions such as Kwanzaa and the uptick in cultural heritage tourism to Africa's slave castles, the Pan-African call for global black unity so popular in the 1960s has fallen out of favor. Once a continent that served to empower black leaders in the United States with models for their own civil rights campaigns, Africa today is far less politically relevant in African American communities. When African Americans managed to roll back segregation, advocate for affirmative action, and carve out spaces in the American political landscape, black citizens struggling in nations ravaged by centuries of colonialism found their success stalled. For blacks in America who advanced so rapidly at home, the notion that true success could only be measured in terms of global black liberation undermined their own advances.

As a result, African American politics turned inward. Success in Africa was no longer part in parcel with success at home. Whereas black leaders once prioritized the black struggle in the Third World, America's new black politics has been far more focused on stamping out vestiges of discrimination in the United States. Africa, rather than imagined as a place full of black brothers and sisters in arms, has slowly transformed into a place in black history only revisited in order to remind African Americans of their strength and mettle in the face of brutal slave conditions and historic oppression.

Standing on the grounds of their imagined homeland, African Americans who visit Ghana frequently evoke their blackness as the source of strength that has enabled them to survive the Middle Passage, contend with a shipwrecked identity in America, overcome discrimination, and
ultimately return to Africa. The itineraries sold to black church groups, sororities, and other travelers who wish to see the land of their ancestors, however, prioritize histories of traditional African greatness, slavery, and African intellectuals at the expense of contemporary narratives of everyday Ghanaian struggle. Because of this avoidance of political engagement, a distance has grown between Ghanaians and black tourists. Today, black tourists are greeted with the term "obruni" or "white man". Those who were once brothers and sisters are now black people scattered throughout the diaspora living vastly different lives, their historic alliances dissipated.

On Friday, however, President Obama and his family made a crucial step in restoring the kinship bonds of blackness throughout the world by engaging not only with historic Africa, but with contemporary Africa and the people struggling to survive there. Though Obama delivered a relatively predictable, policy-focused call for self-reliance and democracy in Africa, the mere presence of a black U.S. president on Ghanaian soil, speaking to Ghanaian people about Ghanaian problems, marks a welcome rekindling of discourse between blacks throughout the diaspora. As Obama declared, "I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world ... as partners with America on behalf of the future we want for all of our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual responsibility and mutual respect."

In coming to Africa, the Obama family likely grappled with their own identities as black Americans. But beyond those moments of inward reflection at the slave castles, President Obama took the crucial step of explaining to Ghana, and all of Africa, that he believes that success in Africa is an essential part of ensuring the success of blacks around the world. Yes, the Obamas spent time at a slave castle, mourned their history of oppression, and gained strength from their return, but they also engaged with the people of Ghana in a way that assured Africans of their visibility in American communities, both black and white.

William Bradley: Diminishing Returns for Obama's Summiteering?

2009-07-12T23:58:01Z

The Obamas toured a center of the African slave trade on Saturday on the coast of Ghana.

President Barack Obama returned early Sunday morning from a near week-long international tour that took him to a key summit in Moscow, a G-8 summit, and his first appearance in Africa as president. But some suggested, with his poll numbers down a bit and media attention mostly elsewhere, that his summiteering is having diminishing returns.

Perhaps. But I think it has at least as much to do with the media culture.

American media, especially cable TV news, is moving more into infotainment mode, stuck on a few areas. Geopolitics has never been its strong suit, and political coverage is mostly focused on food fights. Which was unfortunate, as following on to his addresses in Prague and Cairo, Obama gave the final two of his advertised four major speeches on his new geopolitics last week, in Moscow and in Accra, Ghana.

While Obama was in Moscow for a fairly momentous summit with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, American media was mostly transfixed by some very shiny pieces of tinsel named Michael Jackson and Sarah Palin.

Obama's meeting with the pope is the sort of standard event that the conventional media knows how to cover.

Now, admittedly, neither Jackson nor Palin holds much interest for me. They're non-serious celebrities. I have a high tolerance for eccentricity, which can be a creative thing, but Michael Jackson was just plain weird, and I hadn't listened to his music in decades. As for Sarah Palin, I pegged her as a lightweight in a piece here on the Huffington Post just a few hours after she was announced as John McCain's running mate and maintained that she was a serious hindrance for McCain right after her career highlight speech at the Republican national convention. She's a political sideshow. Put another way, she'll be president some time after Han Solo.

Here's the 911 call for the late Michael Jackson.

But between the now ingrained back-and-forth fights over Palin and the Jackson circus, the dominant programming was set, taking over the most interesting part of Obama's week, the Russian part.

Admittedly, geopolitics isn't easy to talk about. It's not simply a matter of opinion. The media is quickly at sea when foreign policy goes beyond Western Europe and the Middle East. And even CNN has cut back on its geopolitical coverage. Fox News and MSNBC are barely in the game.

That was especially clear on Saturday, when the Obamas toured a former center of the African slave trade on the coast of Ghana.

Fox News had no set-up for this obviously dramatic moment in the history of America's first black president, cutting away from its usual conservative chatter only as Obama was wrapping up his remarks after he and his family toured the former dungeons and slave pens, cutting away not long after. As for MSNBC, it had no coverage at all, stuck as it was on whatever infotainment sludge it is that the channel telecasts on weekends. Only CNN had anything approaching full coverage.

The media culture and its obsessions aside, Obama had a very interesting week.

Russia and America are now allied on Afghanistan.

The Moscow Summit from Monday to Wednesday was the so-called "Reset Summit" to bring American/Russian relations out of the neo-Cold War depths they'd sunk to last year. It certainly succeeded at that, and at some other things as well, especially with regard to sharp reductions in nuclear weapons, aid for the US effort in Afghanistan, and a pullback on NATO expansion, a longtime thorn in the side of Russia. But other sticking points remained, on a US anti-missile shield and on Iran.

And while Obama has good rapport with Medvedev, the reaction of Putin, which is not yet clear, may be the most telling. Here's one early indication of what Putin's reaction might be. Obama's buddy, Medvedev (Putin's former chief of staff), announced as the G-8 summit ended that if the proposed US anti-missile shield in Eastern Europe isn't resolved to Moscow's satisfaction by September, he will move offensive missiles into Kaliningrad, formerly the Prussian/German city of Konigsberg, a Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic.

After Moscow, which coincided with the height of the Jackson circus and the Palin psychodrama, things went predictably downhill at the G-8, the group of eight advanced industrial nations which has been largely overtaken by the G-20.

With Obama's encouragement, the G-8 leaders agreed to provide $20 billion in food aid to Africa, mainly in development programs rather than cash which would otherwise likely end up in the pockets of corrupt regimes.

That aside, the G-8 summit looks like a disappointment. While leaders agreed to continue economic stimulus efforts, with the International Monetary Fund projecting a 1.4% contraction in the global economy this year (down slightly from the previous forecast), there's still concern about continuing unemployment. Which is usually a lagging indicator of any recovery.

The more established industrial countries are at loggerheads with more recently industrializing countries on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. China and India are not on board. As a result, the more established powers agreed to a goal of cutting temperature rises but not specific targets in greenhouse gas reductions This means there is a great deal to be done prior to the UN's big Copenhagen conference late this year on climate change.

Obama delivered a major address on America, Africa, and the new world framework on Saturday to the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra.

Obama's first visit to Africa as president, obviously fairly momentous, received relatively short shrift. That's probably a function of timing, (coming on the weekend in the US), ignorance (like most white Americans, I know relatively about Africa), and overload (coming at the tail end of a big week), as well as a failing media culture.

It's unfortunate, as Obama's speech to the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra, with more than a bit of tough love that certainly no other president could utter, was quite interesting. And deserves much more attention than I can give it now. (For one thing, I would actually have to know about Africa, which I do not.)

Sarah Palin, chatting flirtatiously here with a Canadian comedian she strangely believed to be French President Nicolas Sarkozy, will, odd as it may seem, never be president.

Contrary to conventional media expectation, Obama has not been hunkered down in the White House, dispatching Hillary Clinton to fly the flag around the world. (Indeed, Clinton will give her first major speech as secretary of state only this week.) Instead, Obama is pursuing a very expansive recasting of America's role in the world, with a fascinating blend of high-flown rhetoric and realpolitik.

It has nothing to do with the controversial fluff that is Sarah Palin, the infotainment appeal of Michael Jackson, the usual partisan ping-pong, or even the celebrity-oriented media obsessions with the Obamas themselves. But it does have a lot to do with America's future.

You can check things during the day on my site, New West Notes ... www.newwestnotes.com.

Blakk Rasta's Obama "Theme Song" In Ghana

2009-07-12T09:38:04Z

The New York Times writes up what it calls a "theme song for Obama's Ghana visit."

The theme song of the last stop may have been provided by a Reggae singer named Blakk Rasta, whose song, "Barack Obama," was played constantly during an arrival breakfast in Accra, Ghana, and had a way of staying in the head long after the travelers left.

The main refrain of the song was just a lyrical rendition of the president's name, over and over: "Barack, Barack, Barack Obama." The rest was a proud celebration of the first African-American president -- "As you keep the fire burning, black president..." -- flavored with some in

Read more here, or watch the music video for Blakk Rasta's "Barack Obama."

Larry Diamond: Obama and Democracy in Africa

2009-07-11T18:09:55Z

In his historic speech to Ghana's parliament today, President Barack Obama put democracy and good governance at the front and center of Africa's future and America's hope for it. That is just where it needs to be. Obama could not have been more eloquent or forthright in identifying bad governance -- corruption, lawlessness, abuse of human rights, and purely superficial deference to democratic norms -- as the bane of Africa's quest for development and dignity.

Of course, the point was forcefully made from the start in Obama's choice of Ghana for his visit to sub-Saharan Africa as president. Ghana is not immune from the ills of corruption and misuse of power that plague the continent, but among the continent's sizeable countries, it has gone the furthest in achieving a reasonably liberal democracy, with repeated free and fair elections, media freedom, a pluralistic civil society, and responsible governance. And it has generated significant economic progress and significant new flows of international development assistance (and to some extent investment) as a result.

The Accra speech was historic in a number of respects. No American president has ever spoken so candidly on African soil about the real roots of Africa's development malaise, which lie in the "big man" syndrome of patronage-drenched ethnic politics, contempt for the rule of law, and wanton abuse of human rights. Perhaps only an American president whose African grandfather felt the brunt of racist European imperialism could say to Africa as frankly as Obama did that--more than half a century after decolonization--the core problem is not the colonial legacy but what Africans themselves have done and failed to do with the hopes and dreams they carried into dependence. The speech was a clarion call for Africans to assume personal and national responsibility for their own futures, and I suspect it will leave an especially deep impact on young Africans, whom Obama addressed directly and inspirationally as only he can.

This is not the first time that Obama has spoken eloquently abroad about the importance of democracy, human rights, and good governance. It formed an important, if secondary, theme of his Cairo speech last month, when, in seeking to build a new bridge of partnership and understanding with Muslims around the world, he challenged the legitimacy and sustainability of oppressive regimes, with language that resonated powerfully among Arab publics who want democratic change. It was a major element of his speech this past week to the New Economic School in Moscow. Even though that speech again had another purpose--to help "reset" the American relationship with Russia on fresh foundations of mutual respect and shared interests--it also affirmed the "universal values" of freedom of speech, press, and assembly, the rule of law and competitive elections.

In fact, the succession of messages defining to the world what his administration stands for began with his historic public speech in Prague's Hradcany Square on April 5. Mainly, that address unfolded a broad vision and commitment to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, but it began with a passionate tribute to "the courage of those who stood up and took risks to say that freedom is a right for all people, no matter what side of a wall they live on, and no matter what they look like."

During his campaign and in his young presidency, Obama has spoken repeatedly and passionately of how the "arc of history" bends in the long run toward freedom. But there is also an arc across these speeches that is, no doubt surprisingly to some of his Republican and conservative critics, committing his Administration to support, encourage, and work for the advance of freedom around the world. Clearly, it will not take the same moralistic and grandiose tone that George W. Bush often assumed. Nor will it be so openly confrontational; Obama has taken pains repeatedly to stress that he does not wish to "lecture" to other countries. But for these reasons, it could also prove more effective.

In the months ahead lies the next and more difficult challenge. In several prominent speeches and now most explicitly in Accra, Obama has renewed the American commitment to support democratic values and institutions around the world. In Accra, he has gone at least as far as Bush did to identify the inextricable link between sustainable development and responsible, transparent, law-based governance. Further, he has pledged to increase American assistance to the individuals, organizations, and governmental institutions that fight corruption and build good governance. It is a truism--but nevertheless true--that his historic speeches will ultimately be judged by his success in delivering on these commitments.

Some obvious steps would help to move the policy forward. First, it is going to require more money for democracy and governance assistance, and for generating the incentives for countries to institutionalize more transparent and accountable governance. This is a tough thing to do in hard economic times, but it is essential if Obama's rhetorical commitments are to be taken seriously. Direct democracy and governance assistance programs require only a small percentage of the record $49 billion just appropriated by the House for diplomacy and development. But the budgets for the National Endowment for Democracy and for democracy and governance programs of the U.S. Agency for International Development can be incrementally increased. It is a welcome development that the House voted a modest increase in assistance for one of George W. Bush's signature aid programs, the independent Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). But it is important that the relative independence of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and its innovative, incentive-based approach to encouraging good governance be preserved.

Second, Obama must name a new Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development as soon as possible. Development specialists had hoped that the early naming of a high-profile, vigorous leader would energize and symbolize an elevation of the development function within American foreign policy. Instead, USAID has been drifting, uncertain and to some extent demoralized, in the absence of a new leader and a clarified role.

Third, new allocations of development assistance to countries, in Africa and around the world, must continue to be reformed to reflect their relative levels of commitment to good governance, not just through the MCA but in the overall development assistance budget of USAID. The United States and other donor agencies in Europe and Japan, not to mention the World Bank and other international donors, still pour far too much money into the coffers of governments that are wasting and stealing the aid. One can only admire Obama's commitment to substantially increasing U.S. development assistance over time, as well as his visionary and urgently needed push at the recent G8 summit, for a new international assistance to improve food security in poor nations. But if Obama takes seriously his own message in Accra--that better governance is the key to development in Africa--then aid programs must find better ways to link the two, and to leverage the former in order to advance the latter.

Finally, the new Administration needs to designate a high-ranking official who will have overall authority to craft its strategies and coordinate its programs to support democratic development around the world. This could either take the form of "dual-hatting" an existing official at the National Security Council in this role (as was the case in the Bush Administration), or naming a new special coordinator for democracy programs. In the end, policy implementation comes down to people and lines of authority. Designating a high-level NSC official to coordinate the Administration's efforts to advance democracy and good governance would show that Obama is serious about joining with African peoples--and others around the world still mired in poverty and bad governance--to become, in his words in Accra, "partners in building the capacity for transformational change."