Big Fucking Deal: Eastwood & Obama at Tampa Republican Convention (A Skit by Clint Eastwood)

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:CLINT EASTWOOD, a dishevelled blabbering old Hollywood actor anddirector of global fame, standing in front of a pulpit;BARACK OBAMA, an incumbent US president running for reelection,sitting by and furiously tweeting on his smartphone.***EASTWOOD: (laughing; looks down at Obama, who's fidgeting with hissmartphone) So, Mr. President, how do you handle promises that youhave made when you were running for election, and how do you handlethem?I...

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Kinshasa Daily Le Potentiel accuses DRC Top Cop Gen. Charles Bisengimana of usurping state powers

(PHOTO: Gen. Charles Bisengimana Rukira)***Kinshasa independent daily Le Potentiel accused today DRC acting topcop, Gen. Charles Bisengimana, of having usurped powers well above andbeyond his pay grade.(Gen. Bisengimana has been acting in an interim capacity as DRC topcop since the suspension in June 2010 of his boss, Gen. John Numbi,whose name surfaced in the double murder of rights activist Floribert"Flori" Chebeya and his driver Fidèle Bazana.Gen....

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From Zuma's Penis to Michelle Obama's boobs: Outrage of the Absurd

(PHOTO: Cover of Spanish fashion magazine Fuera de Serie with Britishartist Karine Percheron-Daniels's retouch of Marie-GuillemineBenoist's "Portrait d'une négresse" with Michelle Obama)***I'm furious to see French feminist painter Marie-Guillemine Benoist(1768-1826) maligned by association in the current "racism"controversy swirling around the very revolutionary painting thatestablished her reputation when it was displayed at the 1800 Salon.On display...

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François Hollande in Kinshasa this October: Opposition wish for delocalizing Francophony Summit dashed

(PHOTO: French Prez François Hollande speaking at the 20th Conferenceof Ambassadors at the Elysée Palace, Paris, Monday, August 27, 2012)***Some Congolese opposition parties--chief among them, the UDPS--werecampaigning for the delocalization of the Summit of Francophony, whichwill be held in Kinshasa in mid-October.A stupid strategy, if you ask me. For what better platform for theopposition to voice its grievances than the Summit of Francophony?Besides,...

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Kigali tells Belgian FM Didier Reynders the whole world is hallucinating

(PHOTO: Didier Reynders at the Paras Belges Memorial in Kigali,Saturday, August 25, 2012. Ten Belgian peacekeepers were slaughteredhere by the génocidaires on April 7, 1994)***Didier Reynders's visit at the Paras Belges Memorial is part ofmandatory state protocol for any Belgian official visiting Kigali.But the Memorial was also pregnant with potent symbolism forReynders's very own "shuttle diplomacy."The génocidaire Major Bernard Ntuyahaga is the...

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M23 baffling tactical event at Kiwanja: Prodding MONUSCO INDBATT-2 resolve?

(PHOTO: Indian troops of MONUSCO Peacekeeping brigade battle groupbattalion "INDBATT-2" defending their Kiwanja base against M23, July25)***Radio Okapi is reporting that, breaking the lull observed these pastfew weeks on the frontline, the M23 staged a major tactical eventnorth of Kiwanja.The event took place from the morning of Thursday, August 23, till theevening of Friday, August 24.Radio Okapi sources didn't provide the number of casualties--if...

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Rwanda: From RPF Congo Desk Fund to AGACIRO Development Fund (AgDF)

(PHOTO: Prez Paul Kagame at the launch of the Agaciro DevelopmentFund, at Kigali Serena Hotel, August 23)***The Kigali 5-star Serena Hotel was the setting of the festive launchby President Paul Kagame of the Agaciro Development Fund (AgDF) onThursday, August 23.According to Kigali New Times reporter Edwin Musoni, "Agaciro" is aKinyarwanda language word "closely translated to meandignity or self-worth."(Page Address: www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15094&a=57454)The...

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Belgian FM Didier Reynders and Prez Kabila at Lubumbashi: Shuttle Diplomacy or lessons on SSR to Congo?

(PHOTO: Belgian Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Didier Reynderswith Prez Joseph Kabila at Lubumbashi, August 22)***Belgian Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders is on a4-day visit in the DRC.Reynders is scheduled to fly to Kigali on Saturday after visits to theKivus--including, according to reporter Colette Braeckman, a stop at ahospital run by the Order of Malta on Idjwi Island, in South Kivu.Despite their diplomatically friendly...

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Thriving Insurgent Economy (M23's taxes vs. FDLR's bushmeat) and their chokehold on Goma

(PHOTO: A "lady with hippo meat" nabbed by Virunga Park Rangers onAugust 21. The hippo was killed by the FDLR. With The proceeds fromthe sale of the hippo meat, the FDLR bought 2 PKM machine guns)***There's no other way around this observation:The DRC government is asleep at the switch.It now allows the status quo to fester unchecked, hoping against allhope that its Hail Mary pass to regional and international bodieswould somwhow deal a deadly blow...

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Rise of the Baluba: Lt. Col. John Tshibangu goes AWOL & creates Tribal Militia to install Tshisekedi as Prez

(PHOTO: Lt .Col. John Tshibangu, 44, second-in-command of the FARDC4th Military Region before desertion)***It's fortunate ridicule never kills anyone.Otherwise, this buffoon, name of John Tshibangu, would be already deadas we speak.When he went AWOL with 12 other fellow tribesmen from the ranks of theFARDC on August 12, John Tshibangu had the rank of lieutenant coloneland was second-in-command of the 4th FARDC Military Region (bothKasais), based...

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Kabila at SADC Maputo Talk Shop where leaders showed contempt for the People

(Prez Kabila mobbed by media upon arrival at Joaquim ChissanoConference Centre, Maputo, August 17, 2012)***The heads of states or their representatives of the 16 member statesof the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held their 32ndordinary summit at Maputo, Mozambique, on August 17 and 18.The regional bloc's summit was hailed for blasting Rwanda's aggressionof DRC; criticized for its slow pace in resolving the ongoingpolitical crises...

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Scenario of blasting the Mullahcracy to smithereens

You may have heard this one already...This past Wednesday, August 15, American journalist and bloggerRichard Silverstein posted an alleged Israeli draft plan leaked to himby a former minister.A plan to blast the mullahcracy of Iran to smithereens, which readslike stuff from a sci-fi yarn.I reformat it into shorter paragraphs as I'm writing this on a mobile phone.THE PLAN:"The Israeli attack will open with a coordinated strike, including anunprecedented...

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Dr. Emmanuel de Mérode's Lay of the Land & Brief History of Violence at Virunga National Park

(PHOTO: General Kakule Sikula aka Lafontaine whose Mai-Mai militiaPARECO occupies the western shore of Lake Edward. HE IS A MURDERER OFPARK RANGERS.)***(Page Address of Dr. de Mérode's MAP detailing current positions ofvarious militia outfits occupying the Park:gorillacd.org/files/2012/08/militias2.jpg)***In an authoritative post titled "Militia Groups" published today,Virunga National Park Chief Warden Dr. Emmanuel de Mérode brilliantlyachieved...

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ICGLR "Neutral Force": A Masquerade in Progress

(PHOTO: Alexandre Luba Ntambo, DRC Deputy Premier in charge of Defense)***The subcommittee of Defense Ministers set up at the August 7-8 KampalaSummit of the heads of state of the International Conference on theGreat Lakes Region (ICGLR) finally convened in Goma, the provincialcapital of North Kivu.And on Thursday, August 16, according to DRC Defense MinisterAlexandre Luba Ntambo, the subcommittee retained the following mainrecommendations to be...

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World Sexiest Prez to David Cameron: Shove it, mate!

(PHOTO: Ecuadorian Prez Rafael Correa, a third world hero)***Were the Brits kidding by threatening to storm the Ecuadorian embassyafter Ecuador granted asylum to Julian Assange or were they justkidding?It seems that they were dead serious and they even claim to be stillkeeping that option on the table, though The Guardian thinks they'vebacktracked.On Wednesday, the British government issued the following"unprecedented" threat to the Ecuadorian Embassy...

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Tactics Analysis: Virunga National Park Rangers as unwitting allies of M23 insurgents

(PHOTO: Ranger Luc "watches the savannah from a Lulimbiwatchtower" close to the eastern shore of Lake Edward)***On their list of shifting demands to justify their insurgency, the M23have now found a new fake one: the military and logistical support theDRC is providing to the FDLR, the Rwandan terrorist outfit.The M23's newly found pretext comes amid fresh reports alleging thatfor over a week now, Rwanda has been intensifying its support to theinsurgents...

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US War Crimes Chief Stephen Rapp in Kinshasa: Rwanda support to M23 undermines stability in the region

(PHOTO: Ambassador Stephen J. Rapp)***Stephen J. Rapp, United States Ambassador-at-Large for War CrimesIssues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice, is visiting theAfrican Great Lakes region, visited Kinshasa this week.According to the State Department, "Ambassador Rapp is on foreigntravel to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, where he willparticipate in official meetings on global criminaljustice issues."Rapp was recently apparently misquoted...

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