When China Rules The World

Just finished reading the excellent book by British journalist (Martin Jacques) titled, "When China Rules The World". It's obvious to anyone that China is fast accelerating towards being the premier nation in the world. In about thirty years (on my calculation) I'd say that China will be Numero Uno. It's best to start reading up on Chinese philosophy, geography, systems of governance etc, if you want to succeed in this new Chinese era.

The book by Martin Jacques is a thick one, but a good one. He goes into detail - as only a Brit can - describing the mindset of the Chinese people and their rulers, and he's at length describing how the Chinese system differs sharply from the Western system.

The only unnerving part of the book is his over-negative view of Chinese racial views. I think the Chinese are no different to anyone else when it comes to dealing with people of a different culture or race. We will just have to take all that in stride. Having said that: let's brace ourselves for riding on the back of the Chinese Tiger; this will be one heck of a ride.

Why The Price of Oil Rises

I've always wondered why the price of gas at the pump ('petrol' in Britain/Zimbabwe) keeps rising. Here in Northern California I've gone from paying about $1.61/gallon in 2001 to over $3/gallon today. I've never believed the experts I hear on TV talking about "troubles in the Niger Delta", or "security tensions in the Persian Gulf". I've always thought that there are more complex issues at play. Here's Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the former Director of Saudi intelligence, giving his take on the continuing rise of the price of gas/petrol.

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Prince Turki Al-Faisal - "The sad fact is that four oil-producing countries [have] failed to live up to expectations. In 1998, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Venezuela, were producing 12.7 million barrels per day. Everyone - including major companies such as BP and our own planners at Saudi Aramco - expected them to be producing 18.4 million barrels per day in 2008. Instead, due to civil strife, failed investments, or in the case of Iraq, a U.S invasion, they were producing only 10.2 million barrels per day. That drove the price part of the way up. Then speculators in the form of hedge funds, did the rest."
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District 9

Watched "District 9" last week. What a weird and strange movie! But a bloody, good one at that! The movie title harks back to Apartheid South Africa, when the residents of a "coloured" area (called District 6), were forcibly moved to make way for white residents.

The analogy today would probably be the millions of [mostly] Zimbabweans who live - and eke out a living - in the dusty townships of South Africa. My heart bleeds! having said that, this is a good movie, and I can't wait for the sequel.

Mugabe 10 Amanpour 0

I've watched the Mugabe/Amanpour interview over and over again on Youtube. The next time that CNN plans to interview RGM, they should let the interviewer be Fareed Zakaria (on his GPS show). Fareed Zakaria, an Indian-American, has a greater feel for the delicate subtleties and brittle idiosyncrasies that beset Non-Western leaders.

Christiane Amanpour - so unused to the determined and dogmatic mindsets of revolutionary leaders like Robert Mugabe - was always going to be eaten alive by President Mugabe. The man has eight degrees - one in violence - and he's no intellectual lightweight. If the folks at CNN thought that they were going to interview an Obiang Nguema, an Ian Khama or Ali Ben Bongo - in other words, an intellectual lightweight - then they were tragically mistaken.

When you enter into the arena of intellectual gladiators against the likes of Robert Mugabe, you must be fully prepared for an onslaught of logically sound arguments; facts not trivia; and a bone-jarring determination to see through one's point of view. Amanpour was mauled by the old lion, and so next time around, someone like Fareed Zakaria should handle any TV questioning.

Thank you
James Chikonamombe

Documentary: Pan-African Cultural Festival

Last Sunday I watched a documentary about the 1st Pan-African Cultural Festival that took place in Algiers, Algeria in 1969. I watched it at the Pacific Film Archives, on the campus of U.C Berkeley, here in Northern California. The film is actually a re-mastered version of an original film that was released much earlier. For some strange reason the director, William Klein, loped off twenty minutes from the original version.If like me you are a rabid Pan-Africanist, then this is a film you have to watch. Swapo, ANC, The Black Panthers, Frelimo, Zapu, they're all in the film.

The film starts with cultural performances from various African countries, and then really takes off with a marvelous, lyrical ditty performed by Miriam Makeba and Dorothy Masuka. There is archived footage of Africa's greatest soldier/philosopher, Amilcar Cabral, explaining what they (The PAIGC) were up against in their battle against the colonial Portuguese. Augustino Neto appears after that, and then there is a philosophical tour-de-force by the Beninoise Stanislas Adetovi, one of the main thinkers of the Negritude Movement. The Black Panther leader, Eldridge Cleaver, also makes a cameo appearance.The film ends with a superb live jazz performance by Archie Shepp, and a group of Algerian musicians. Once again: for Pan-Africanists, this is the film for you.

Charging-for-Content

Right now there is an on-going debate over whether to start charging internet users a fee to visit certain web-sites. Well, the providers of the content should tread carefully, and should not make the mistake of the music industry. In the early 90s I lived in England, and I used to buy Cd's for exorbitant sums, 11-99(Pounds Sterling) for an ordinary CD - and this was in the early 90s. Sometimes, the record companies would tag a hot-selling CD as an "import" and then jack up the price even higher. I specifically recollect trudging down Oxford Street in London to HMV and spending 17-99(Pounds Sterling) for Snoop Doggy Dog's first album - then tagged as an "import".

Well, I eventually got even with those music industry bastards. Since file-sharing became popular, I've downloaded - for free - all the music that I could lay my hands on. Now, the only time that I pay for albums is if it's an obscure African release, and then I have to order it from Stern Music's website. Those who will attempt to "monetize" their viewership should take notes from the music industry and not try to gouge the customers. As the saying goes, "the customer is always right", and customers will find a way to get all the content that they need for free, if they feel that they're being gouged at the counter.

MaMoyo, Dambisa Moyo

This afternoon I watched the Zambian economist, Dambisa Moyo, on the CNN show, "GPS with Fareed Zakaria". All I can say is that I'm overwhelmed with joy, and I agree with everything that she said 100%. Apropos of that, there are some tips I need to give Dr. Moyo about the intellectual and economical environment in which we live in.

In some African countries like Chad, the Aid Industry is the only industry to speak off. In most African countries, aid workers live like Maharajahs, living in the poshest suburbs, driving Land Rovers, and with a retinue of servants in tow. Now: do we honestly think that that they are prepared to give up that lifestyle, just because Dr. Moyo announced that "there should be no more aid to Africa"? I don't think so. In fact they (the aid workers & the aid industry) will fight tooth-and-nail to preserve their privileges in Africa.

Intellectual bullying knows no boundaries, and if I was Dambisa Moyo I would invest in a suit of body-armour, the type that European knights wore in the Middle Ages! The attacks against her will get vicious. She will be accused of all kinds of transgressions. The wilder the accusation, the harder it will be to refute. Whispering campaigns will be launched against her private life; all kinds of lies and insinuations will be put out in public.

Woe betide her if she ever tries to get employed in American academia. She just won't be hired; not even by Appalachian State University! Keeping her away from Academia will stop her from poisoning 18 and 19 year old minds with the silly notion of, "stopping all aid to Africa".

So there it is Dr. Moyo. I hope that you keep doing what you're doing, but it goes without saying, that what you're saying amounts to heresy in some quarters. How can aid to Africa be stopped? The whole global media edifice has been acculturated to the "fact" of a helpless and hopeless Africa that must rely on aid. You just can't come out - from left field - and state otherwise.

If the powers-that-be state that the Earth is flat, then you can't turn around and state that, No! It's actually round. That would be heresy. I'll close by saying that: be warned! The knives will come out for you in due course. In fact "they" are probably sharpening their butcher knives as I post this blog.