Archive for November, 2011
Buzzing Bee Ele Fence
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Wildlife Management, Wildlife Research on November 29, 2011
All we had to do is remember Dumbo jumping away in terror from Mickey Mouse. Instead we spent millions digging earthen moats, sprayed juiced pepper along firebreaks of hay, and I proudly discovered meter squares of steel reenforced spiked concrete. All we needed was a bee! Five years of research has culminated with a global [...]
War Week 6
Very little of anything happened last week with Kenya’s invasion of Somalia. Some are beginning to see it as an occupation rather than a specific campaign. Kenyan forces continue to decline engaging al-Shabaab in their fortified towns of Afmadow and Kisamyo. Kenyans at home who have until now been unwavering in their support are beginning [...]
Our 1st Thanksgiving in Kenya
One of the hardest things to leave behind when Kathleen and I first moved to Kenya many, many years ago was Thanksgiving. No matter what your religion or politics, Thanksgiving is a major American holiday, all-American so to speak. And even before a third of our society was obese, it was a day of gluttonous [...]
War or Peace, At This Very Instant
I started this blog to write about animals. Today, like so many days, it’s about elections and wars. And in this wrap-up blog before our Thanksgiving holiday, the preeminent news is at this very moment in time. Better than I would have a hoped a few moments ago. It’s so ephemeral. It’s easy to argue [...]
Egypt’s Complicated Future
Posted by jimheck in Egypt, Twevolution on November 21, 2011
The political situation in Egypt may be very confusing, but the death-toll now exceeding 35 over this past weekend raises the profile of the current unrest above what it was when the old regime toppled in February. What can we see in the near future? Weekend demonstrations were nowhere near as large, but just as [...]
WAR : Week 5
Little or no advancement by Kenyan troops in Somali this week ended today with reports this morning of 400 new Kenyan soldiers amassing on the border north of Lamu, and a limited movement of the existing forces towards Afmadow. It’s hard to tell this morning if this heralds a real new military push — which [...]
Guided by a Child’s Remembrance
Posted by jimheck in Arts and Culture, Rwanda, War on November 17, 2011
Clemantine Wamariya, a 23-year old Yale student and Tutsi who lived through the Rwandan genocide when she was 6 years old, has been appointed by President Obama to the board of the Holocaust Museum. Is this wise? Ms. Wamariya’s life is a fairy tale story, and I mean her no ill will. In time she [...]
Hot Time in the Old Town
Posted by jimheck in Congo, Mountain Gorilla on November 15, 2011
There is probably nowhere better on earth to see and learn about volcanoes than Hawaii. But it’s in Africa where you can risk your life to get close! And that’s the important phrase: risk your life. I’m not sure it’s either wise or appropriate no matter who you are, but right now the officials managing [...]
An African Movie Book
Posted by jimheck in "Modern" Africa, African Books, African Films on November 14, 2011
There are more African cocktail table books than of any other continent, and that’s neither a surprise nor news. So it’s no surprise either that one of the newest productions picture books is multi-media, employing every modern IT trick available. Is this the preview of all future picture books on Africa? The Kalahari Dream by [...]
War : Week 4
The Kenyans never said how long it would take, but it’s taking too long. And while opinion in Nairobi remains ludicrously supportive analysts outside the country are painting a gloomier and gloomier picture. The Kenyan invasion might have given a terrorist organization its first opportunity to win a conventional war. There was little fighting last [...]
Tourism, Come Clean!
Posted by jimheck in Planning Travel, Tourism Trends on November 10, 2011
Yesterday was World Responsible Tourism Day, until yesterday in my view one of the greatest tourist scams in my lifetime. But finally yesterday, Cape Town authorities saved the concept from the dustbin. Nevertheless, tourists beware! WTD began nearly 20 years ago with a mania by tourist companies to be labeled “ecotourism” companies. This was the [...]
Our Most Brilliant Traveler
I sit here watching a miserable cold rainy day waiting for snow. Birds (and “sunbirds”) living here in the Midwest have all but gone. But one remarkable bird in southern Africa defies this classic “going and coming” in a most spectacular way! The southern carmine bee-eater is not only one of the grandest and most [...]
War : Week 3
Posted by jimheck in Planning Travel, Safety, Somalia, Tourism Trends, War on November 7, 2011
It’s clear that a major battle is brewing, but it isn’t at all clear who is going to win. America is worried. Kenyans are growing increasingly anxious. More deaths, including tourists. The Thursday afternoon killing of a safari vehicle driver in the Shaba Reserve, and the wounding of a Swiss tourist inside, has no clear [...]
The Evolution of Republicans
Sometimes I wish American politics would just hang clear of my Africa, but how naive I guess. Evolution is founded in, based in, spectacular in Africa, and it’s increasingly a hot-button issue in current Republican politics. I’m embarrassed to write about this, but the amount of ignorance among potentially very powerful people is flabbergasting and [...]
Back to Life Time!
Rains in Africa bring rebirth unlike anywhere else on earth. I don’t mean things just start to grow again. I mean dead things come back to life! Admittedly, most of these creatures are just fooling us to believe they’ve returned from the dark side. They aren’t really the same thing, but the children of things [...]