So far, media coverage of China’s involvement in Africa has mostly been about investment. Stories of Chinese engineers in hard hats standing by roads up mountains in Ethiopia. Stories of Chinese farmers moving to Zambia.
But, in a push to extent its economic reach, China is now making a very real effort to export its culture to the world’s poorest continent. Last year the Asian giant overtook the U.S. as Africa’s top trading partner, confirming to the West that it has a real battle on its hands to maintain its influence over African nations.
But, while China’s economic influence is now mighty and its cheap goods can be bought everywhere from Lagos to tiny tribal villages in remotest Ethiopia, Africans, especially young ones, still admire and try to copy U.S. culture.
Middle class teenagers in Nairobi dress like suburban kids from Atlanta, posters of Obama adorn minibus windows in Kinshasa, American hip-hop is everywhere.
China now seems to have realised this.
Here in Addis Ababa this week China and Ethiopia signed an agreement to work on a “cultural exchange program” from 2010 to 2013. Ethiopia’s state news agency said the countries will dispatch “art troupes, artists, writers and art exhibitions” to each other. It will be interesting to see how mutual the traffic is.
And it’s not just China trying to use culture to secure access to a continent overflowing with mineral resources and a largely untapped consumer market of nearly 1 billion people with more money in their pockets each year.
Addis Ababa is host to Chinese, Indian and even Turkish schools where Ethiopian children must sing the national anthems of those countries every morning, where they learn their languages, their dances, their songs, their particular set of manners. And where they learn a foreign history alongside their own.
Such schools and “cultural exchange programs” are mushrooming all over the continent as the war for influence over African countries heats up.
Similar schools from the European powers have, of course, existed for years, educating and, sometimes indoctrinating, Africa’s elite. But the British, the French, the Germans and the Spanish are losing ground to the world’s emerging powers.
So how will this all play out? What will the impact of these new cultural imports be on the individual cultures of African countries, arguably still the most unique and preserved in the world? Is this really just imperialism version 2.0?
Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb said the upper chamber shouldn’t move forward with healthcare or any other bills until Brown is sworn in.
“In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process,” Webb said in a statement. “To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated.”
The statement from the centrist Webb is a warning shot to Democratic leaders who are now forced to confront how to move forward with health reform efforts and other top priorities in the wake of Brown’s victory. Republicans now control 41 votes in the Senate, meaning they will have enough votes to sustain a filibuster if they all stick together.
The issue is critically important to healthcare, as well. Some lawmakers had talked about rushing to finish their health reform efforts before Brown could be seated, which could take as long as 10 to 15 days under Massachusetts law.
It’s not clear how Webb’s statement affects that; the senator gave no indication as to whether or not he’d join with the GOP to stop movement on legislation until Brown’s seated, if push comes to shove. – The Hill
Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) supported Webb’s statement publicly Wednesday, with reports that “about 10” backed it implicitly.
“As I said to somebody last night:, everybody needs to get the Washington wax out of their ears and listen and pay attention that people out there believe that we are going too far, too fast,” McCaskill told Politico.
“I’ve said to the leader, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to try to pass another bill in the Senate before Sen. Scott Brown is seated,” she added. “I think that’s a bad idea.”
McCaskill said Democrats need to “hunker down and be realistic about what we can accomplish and certainly realize that if we don’t pay attention to what the voters say in Massachusetts, then I think we do so at the peril of our party’s effectiveness.”
On the House side, many Representatives followed Webb’s lead. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) told a constituents’ meeting that “both versions [of Obamacare], for all intents and purposes, are dead because of Massachusetts…. The public has sent a message.”
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) agreed the House could not now accept the Senate healthcare bill, and said he’d vote against it.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen said, “Health care was also part of the debate, and the people of Massachusetts were right to be upset about provisions in the Senate bill like the Nebraska purchase and other special deals.”
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) warned, “We’ve abandoned our principles on healthcare, such as expanding Medicare. We’ve driven away the voters on this…. Congressional leaders are whistling past the graveyard…. Take a step back and say, ‘We get the message.’ The independent voters don’t like it. Take a jobs bill, and add healthcare by expanding Medicare.”
Neil Cavuto blasts President Obama for attacking Scott Brown’s truck. Republican Scott Brown had been running ads in Massachusetts where he is out driving around in his 2005 GMC Canyon pickup truck while campaigning for US Senator.
Scott Brown’s Fair Game; His Truck Isn’t
By Neil Cavuto
OK, so two things.
One: President Obama doesn’t flip over Scott Brown. That I knew.
Two: He doesn’t flip over Scott Brown’s truck. That I didn’t know.
You’d think that the auto “rescue in chief” would be careful not to bad-mouth any truck.
Especially an American truck. Especially a General Motors truck. Especially an American-rescued General Motors truck. Especially a 2005 GMC Canyon truck — that’s a pretty hardcore American truck — made by a company with problems to its core American truck-maker GM.
Brown’s fair game; his truck isn’t. And for this president with an incredible tin ear, this very line of attack tells you all you need to know about a leader who can’t even distinguish between the two.
I frankly think it’s his arugula thing all over again. Remember that one during the campaign? He’s talking to a bunch of union folks about the soaring price of everything, says he feels their pain at what’s been happening at the grocery store. And just when I think he’s going to start bemoaning paying more cash for corn flakes, he goes on about forking over more green for arugula — off the charts. And I’m thinking to myself: “Self, this guy’s off his rocker.”
Never mind I’ve since come to discover that arugula is an important veggie staple. It stapled an image in my mind: This guy’s mind is somewhere else.
Arugula matters. GM trucks do not. Bad form, big guy.
It doesn’t prove Scott’s out of touch. It only confirmed you are.
Amnesty International has called for arms transfers to the Somali government to be suspended until there are adequate safeguards to prevent weapons from being used to commit war crimes and human rights abuses.
In its latest briefing paper on the country, Amnesty International details US shipments of arms, including mortars, ammunition and cash for the purchase of weapons to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
These transfers were made despite substantial risks that such types of weapons could be used in indiscriminate attacks by TFG forces, or diverted to armed groups opposed to the TFG, who also commit gross and widespread abuses.
“International concern for the future of the Somali government has not been matched by an equal concern for the human rights of civilians,” said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International Deputy Director for Africa.
“Mortar attacks continue to claim lives – it is time for international donors to apply tighter controls to their support for the government”
Amnesty International’s briefing also details growing international programmes of military and police training for TFG forces, despite a lack of adequate oversight procedures.
The training is delivered in Somalia itself and in Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Uganda. The European Union, France, Germany and Italy are involved, or have pledged funding for it.
Amnesty International calls for all states providing, financing or planning military and police training for the TFG to provide training in international humanitarian law and on arms management. They should also press for the establishment of oversight procedures for TFG forces.
A UN arms embargo on Somalia has been in place since 1992 but states can apply to the UN Sanctions Committee for exemptions to supply security assistance to the Somali government.
Amnesty International is urging the committee to apply criteria for assessing the risk that exemptions to the arms embargo will contribute to war crimes and human rights abuses, and to deny authorisations on this basis.
To be effectively implemented, Amnesty International argues that such criteria need to be enshrined in international law and universally applied to all arms transfers. The organisation calls on states to establish such common standards in an international Arms Trade Treaty.
Somalia has been mired in armed conflict since the collapse of the Siad Barre government in 1991. Conflict intensified and unlawful killings of civilians increased after Ethiopian troops entered Somalia at the end of 2006 to help the TFG fight against several armed opposition groups from whom it has been seeking to regain territorial control.
Despite a peace agreement between the TFG and one armed group, the appointment of a President issued from the former armed opposition and the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia, armed opposition groups have continued attacks against the TFG. In May 2009, they launched a major offensive against the TFG, which currently only controls a small part of the capital Mogadishu.
In 2009, indiscriminate attacks by all parties to the armed conflict have resulted in thousands of civilians killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. The number of people internally displaced within Somalia is now 1.5 million and some 3.7 million are dependent on humanitarian assistance for their survival.
The poll conducted by Ethiopian Review during the past 7 days indicates that most Ethiopians would choose, by a wide margin, Dr Berhanu Nega of Ginbot 7 to be the next president of Ethiopia if a free and fair election is held in Ethiopia today and there is a presidential instead of the current fake parliamentary system of governance.
The 16 candidates in the poll were selected from over 180 suggestions that were made by readers. It is a not scientific poll, but the result is useful in analyzing the state of Ethiopian politics. It also helps to expose the illegitimate nature of the election that is scheduled to be held in Ethiopia next May. If a free election is held in Ethiopia, the outcome would be different. However, as things stand now, the outcome of the May 2010 elections is a forgone conclusion.
Participation in Ethiopian Review’s poll has been greater than we expected. Over 3,000 votes were cast in 3 days. That is almost half of the 7,000 unique visitors who accessed the page, which has been visited over 200,000 times. In about 30 days we will conduct another poll to see if there is any change.
As the front runner, Dr Berhanu Nega has a bigger burden of leadership. He needs to take some bold measures and get concrete results before the May 2010 elections in Ethiopia. Otherwise, his lead will evaporate over night. What we mean by result is clear: The removal of Woyanne. Any thing short of that, such as power sharing with Woyanne, will be considered betrayal or surrender.
Unlike Kinijit, this time we have two alternative forces. In case Ginbot 7 falters or betrays us, there is EPPF, which is emerging as a powerful organization. After Hailu Shawel, we should not completely trust any one. Those of us who wish to see Woyanne replaced by democratic and unity forces need to support both these organizations.
Investment from China and other Asian countries was an important factor in several years of unprecedented growth in Africa before the global downturn hit.
It is very much seen as a critical driver for Africa’s future growth prospects as well.
China has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to Africa through the global troubles and is emerging even more solidly implanted on the continent now. Other Asian countries are also pushing hard, as a recent high-level Indian visit showed.
As one of the main links between Africa and Asia, Ethiopian Airlines offers an interesting indicator as to how the ties have held up and are expected to grow.
Early last year it was talking of cuts, but it is now at 14 flights a week to China and 12 to India. It is planning flights to more destinations in both countries.
Unlike many airlines elsewhere, it also managed to double its profits in its last business year.
Picture: A visitor walks past a map of Africa at the African Development Bank meeting in China in 2007. REUTERS/ Aly Song
So far, media coverage of China’s involvement in Africa has mostly been about investment. Stories of Chinese engineers in hard hats standing by roads up mountains in Ethiopia. Stories of Chinese farmers moving to Zambia. 
Investment from China and other Asian countries was an important factor in several years of unprecedented growth in Africa before the global downturn hit.