Righteous Indignation

The tension between minority indigenous populations and the "ruling" majority is a constant and challenging reality of the modern world. For example, here in the USA we have a sad legacy in regards to our national treatment of the Native American. Across the way, in China, nationalistic fervor and authoritarianism result in the systematic oppression of the "aborigines". William Harlan and Ryan Wylie have made an excellent short documentary of the conflict between the Raramuri, an indigenous group in Mexico, and commercial loggers. It provides an instructive example of the elusiveness of providing justice to the indigenous and of obtaining an equipoise between societal morality, preservation, and modernity in the setting of many years of fault.

Photo: Opening screen shot of the documentary, "Running For Their Lives".

Good Governance

The Dominican Republic and Haiti are two fascinating countries of compare and contrast. They both occupy the same island in the Caribbean, yet their fates have been much different. The Dominican Republic is well governed, democratic, peaceful, and a tourist destination. Haiti is disastrous on all these fronts. A look at the environmental devastation of Haiti is instructive.

Photo: Satellite photo of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic demonstrating the clear cutting of Haitian forest.

Abstinence versus The Healthy Penis

The results of a US government sponsored study on abstinence-only education were recently revealed. The results may not surprise you--it doesn't appear to work. Abstinence-only policies have been a cornerstone of current domestic and foreign health-related programs, at significant financial cost. A funny and fascinating contrast to this failed health promotion strategy is the Healthy Penis campaign. This public health multimedia initiative has evidence to back up its successes and is quite a contrast to bland abstinence-only lectures.

The Next (Same) President

The elections in Uganda are over. The current president, Yoweri Museveni, won again. Overall, most seem to be relieved, as it would have been absolute chaos if Museveni had not won. The main challenger is protesting the results though, and it remains to be seen how his future (and his sometimes rowdy supporters) will play out. I was actually in a remote game park during the elections and found out the results via, you guessed it, a Uganda SMS mobile phone text messaging service
Photo: Voting in Kalisizo on Election Day.

Election Eve

Well, things are heating up around here. The Ugandan elections are tomorrow and there has been some low level rioting in the capital. However, friends and family will be happy to know that I am in the semi-rural Rakai District currently, away from the capital and will be leaving tomorrow for a game park near the border of Rwanda. Our escape plan is to move into Rwanda if things go truly awry in Uganda (times have changed so quickly that Rwanda has become the escape route for potential political chaos in this part of Africa). Many ex-pats have acutally left already, hotels around the smaller city of Entebee, where the airport lies, are full, so that if there is an airlift people will be able to get to the airport quicker! I am at the Rakai Health Sciences Project (RHSP) now, in a very nice, new building (with wireless internet) and trying to get my project off the ground. Much more on RHSP to come.

Good Governance

Somewhat alarming were the recent deaths at an opposition gathering in Kampala. What does it mean to have good governance? The US government established some potential critieria for their Millenium Challenge Account, but it has subsequently been criticized for giving out very little money. And, some might argue American inconsistency with some of the principles we are espousing. While it may seem patent that good governments and economic development are directly related (Mugabe trashing Zimbabwe's economy is a good example), the reality is probably a bit murkier.