Daily Trust (Abuja)
30 July 2008
The word and charm bomb dropped by Obama on adoring Germans at a speech to Berliners on 25th July, 2008, was a fitting revenge for the ungainly protest staged by Adolf Hitler when he fled out of the stadium because the super-American athlete, Jesse Owen, had achieved his athletic miracle by winning four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games held on German soil.
[ See Article ]
"Paying its debts"? How about you pay them?
I think Africa, you will develop and put in play your very intimate solutions to clean water and air, as each continent and piece of earth must. That crop that would bounty load, will make peace with all her wild tree elders; dry, scoured ground form again a soil; and these givers wait: old, sure honouring known before wallstreet made good its dishonest name. Other forms of energy must be chose. The tree/grass kingdom wants man's breath and watering; plenty power seems but treadmill or cycling half-hour per citizen per turbine, per generator away; and no nukes to filth environment for thousands years. Air it seems, is the father we took granted when we had him, that when gone more than pine after, all our ammends hollowing in hurting hearts and lungs. Rhyme nor prettiness (ever part) can themselves reform forces blank in the hear of them, that sound not reason, hug desperate staid status. But good, peaceful governance take the road. Which leads to say of read and learn: when done, none can take from. This the fortress, the bulwark in defense of.
I suggest you not be so romantic and so prone to being swept away by charm and charisma. He's pulling at heart strings like politicians so often do and blunting our reasoning with the same old platitudes. And, also, don't think because Obama is of African descent that he's naturally up to fighting the isms that plague our world. As we so often see, those we believe in turn impotent or silent when put up against corporations and big business. Consider Ralph Nader.
Wow- what a thoughtful, well meaning article. A little wordy, nay, over-eloquent. Don't try so hard.
The thing you are missing is that the world is going to enter an era of self-determination. The Middle East will have to rot, or kill itself, or succeed, or whatever it wants without help from the USA or Germany, unless it finds a better way.
And Africa will rot and starve and die without reforms and better government. This means democracy probably, and this means paying its debts. But it's Africa's choice to make.
I will not hold my breath waiting for help from Obama.
scott