Archive for October, 2011
Sharpen the knives for that Turkey!
In a topsy-turvy world where rain is not good and war is fought in daylight as you sleep, the sum total of the world’s misery explodes, and you prepare for Thanksgiving. Kenya’s invasion of Somalia will be long and self-destructive unless the west decides to increase its military involvement, or unless Kenya figures out a [...]
A Sacrifice So Far Far Away
Posted by jimheck in Economy, Planning Travel, Somalia, Terrorism, Tourism Trends, War on October 28, 2011
From far, far away, Kenya is being sacrificed to quell the war on terror. A young and dynamic, growing country with a tremendous future has been thrown to the wolves. The war in Somalia is not going well for Kenya. The army advance is bogged down, more aid workers and civilians have been kidnaped or [...]
No Odds on Bossie
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Mountain Gorilla, Wildlife Management on October 27, 2011
Hardly had my business to show people big wild animals got off the ground when Peter Beard published his book, End of the Game. Now, I wonder, are there too many wild animals in Africa? Yesterday we learned that the predictable “bamboo season” in Rwanda’s Parc de Volcan was bringing “as expected” many of the [...]
Chant of the Impatient & Vanquished
Posted by jimheck in Planning Travel, Somalia, Terrorism, Tourism Trends, War on October 25, 2011
Within a week we’ll know whether the Kenyan invasion of Somalia is the true beginning of the end of al-Qaeda or the start of increased instability and terrorism in Kenya. I’m pretty pessimistic and damn mad. But the outcome of the battle of Kismayo will tell all. Kismayo is a city. A functioning, wealth-producing large [...]
To Kill or Not To Ele
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Environment, Mara, Wildlife Management on October 24, 2011
Have you ever heard about that little kitty that was taken far, far away and dropped in a forest but found its way back home? What about an elephant? Last week the Kenya Wildlife Service completed the first of several phases of relocating 200 jumbos as much as 100 miles from where they were picked [...]
Africa’s Process of Elimination
Posted by jimheck in "Modern" Africa, Politics, Twevolution on October 21, 2011
Three African despots down. Eleven to go. Here’s my list and predictions of when the last of the African dictators will fall. Is it possible to think of a world without dictators? Can you imagine no Kim Jong Il, the “Stans” with free wifi elections, Hugo sent back to his banana farm or Ahmadinejad retired [...]
African Thinkers on OCWS
Posted by jimheck in "Modern" Africa, Economy, Twevolution on October 20, 2011
Occupy Wall Street is seen from Africa with a clarity we’re missing here at home. As Africa sees it, American youth’s frontal assault on unbridled capitalism is not going to end quietly. The “unbridled” is an important distinction from the sister movement of the 1930s which gave rise to an unique version of South African [...]
No War Games on Safari
Today Kenya invaded Somalia. The speed and size of the mission surprised me and I’m sure greatly pleased Leon Panetta. It’s hard to predict the outcome, but one thing strikes me as certain: this is not a time to take a Kenyan safari. Most news sources reported the Kenyan military operation as a response to [...]
War Games in Africa
The Green Beret deployment last week in Uganda reflects an increasingly militaristic Obama policy that like all war endeavors ends up compromising other very important policies, like democracy. Is it working, and why now? The Obama Administration went out of its way to emphasize that U.S. troops will not operate in Uganda but are simply [...]
This Mojo Got Real Spirit!
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Politics, Uganda, War on October 14, 2011
A paid staffer for Michelle Bachmann was imprisoned in Uganda for terrorism and illicit arms deals with Congo rebels linked to the current serious turmoil in Uganda. Did you know about this?! Last week Peter Waldron convened evangelical Iowa ministers in Des Moines to discuss political strategy to help Bachmann. Five years ago, according to [...]
Lion in the Dune?
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Economy, Environment, Namibia, Planning Travel on October 13, 2011
NPR’s Namibia stories this week distort the overall complexities of human-animal conflicts in Africa as whole. The reporting by Christopher Joyce was an admirable portrayal of one very unusual country’s struggle with wildlife, but when he generalized he was quite wrong. I hope you listened to the two reports, one on Monday and the other [...]
LET IT BE
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Environment, Madagascar on October 11, 2011
Gibson guitars and an African dictator, a major conservation group, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and yes you guessed it, the T-Party, are banging out country and western lyrics headed for the Grammys. Dissonance par excellence. I own (I think, my son took it about 10 years ago) a beautiful Gibson guitar which I played badly [...]
Columbus Day Holiday
Today is Columbus Day in the United States, a federal holiday. All but a handful of states suspend many elective services, schools are closed, all banks in all states must be closed, and there’s no mail delivery. The holiday was proclaimed in 1937 on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus into the [...]
Styles for Africa
Posted by jimheck in "Modern" Africa, Tourism Trends on October 7, 2011
I’m so tired of the incessant charges some of my less appreciative readers make of my understanding of the facts that today I’ll tackle one of my most solid areas of understanding: men’s fashion. In Kenya and the U.S. On safari or off. Over my many years as a guide, friends and family alike have [...]
Only The Best
Posted by jimheck in Economy, Tourism Trends on October 6, 2011
Years ago I guided teachers, bankers, students, lawyers and plumbers on safari. Now, I guide bankers, lawyers and brokers. What’s happened? It’s simple. Like so much in life, safaris have become too expensive for the average Joe. Now to be fair, it was never as easy for a teacher to go on safari as a [...]