Turpitude

I just figured out that German citizens don't actually need a visa to the US. Yay. There is however an Electronic System of Travel Authorisation (currently voluntary) which includes some great questions such as:

Are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities?

That started me thinking about any immoral activities that it could be fun to engage in whilst in the US. Is self-idolatry immoral?

Have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage; or in terrorist activities; or genocide?

Yes, Boris and I have been covertly trying to collect information on your ingenious political system in order to replicate it in the Congo.

Have you ever detained, retained or withheld custody of a child from a U.S. citizen... ?

I assume this means its ok if I detained a child from a citizen of another country?

Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude...?

I had to look up "turpitude". The first thing Wikipedia comes up with is that is is a legal term used in the Visa Waiver forms without proper explanation.

Am I morally turpit? Leave your opinions in the comments.

Lake Bunyoni

In the South of Uganda, close to the border with Rwanda.

French, Rwandans, Germans and judiciaries

Foreword: In the interests of German solidarity with the Government of Rwanda the author would like to express his solidarity with Rwandese dislike of all things French (except for French cuisine, a couple of nice French people I know and funny accents), and asks that his German passport not be held against him.

Back in 2006 Paul Kagame and other top Rwandan officials were indicted by a French judge for the shooting down of the former president's plane in 1994. This was a major trigger of the Rwandan genocide, but there is little evidence and many suspects in the case. The Rwandans responded by kicking all French organisations out of the country.

Under EU cooperation agreements, EU member countries are required to carry out arrest warrants of other member states. This, Germany did for one Rwandan official, Ms Kabuye, Chief of Protocol for the President, traveling through the country. This afternoon there were spontaneous government-ordered protests in the centre of Kigali and in front of the German embassy. (UPDATE 12/11: And the German embassador was asked to leave.)

On the arrest, the BBC writes:

Ms Kabuye has visited the country before but under German law could not be arrested as she was part of an official delegation. "Rwanda has been made aware on several recent occasions that if Ms Kabuye returned to Germany she would be arrested," said [a German] diplomat.

Al Jazeera quotes the Rwandan Information Minister who confirms :

Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwanda's information minister, said that Kabuye was not surprised at being arrested on arrival in Frankfurt.

And in the Rwandan pro-government New Times:

[Foreign affairs minister Rosemary Museminali] said that prior to her travel, the German government had warned Kabuye that she risked being arrested...

Seems clear. But then the Rwandan New Times quotes the Foreign Affairs Minister:

“We emphasised in the note that Kabuye ... was performing diplomatic duties and therefore the Germany authorities wouldn’t have arrested her...” said [Foreign Affairs Minister Museminali.

?

And to finish, who can explain how the whole "indictment -> arrest -> trial -> verdict" thing works?

"We have always been surprised that people can take these bogus indictments seriously. How can you condemn someone before even bothering to hear their side of the story?” [Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama] wondered. (New Times)

LHD

100th post

I started this blog 2 and a half years and 3 countries ago and I still don't know what it is for. Here is a selection of the best posts based on hits, comments and my personal favorites:

• Word of the Day: development tourist - February 2008 - Vocabulary for the development industry
• Poor Kiyovu - August 2008 - Social engineering in the City of Kigal
• The problem with Africa's biggest solar plant - June 2007 - My critique of a big solar power plant
  
• Word of the Day: donor dumping - March 2008 - More vocabulary for the development industry
• Ruhengeri and surroundings (video) - October 2006 - The Rwandan countryside on video
  
• Adventures with petty criminals - June 2006 - Crime in Cape Town
  

Good place to drink beer

September 2008. Mandrem beach, Goa, India.

Nobody cares what I think

Here is a graphic (taken from FiveThirtyEight) that today makes me feel better about the world. According to the site, Barack Obama has a 90.7% probability of winning the election (Win Percentage) based on several current polls and current trends.

Not being a US voter, of course I don't get to vote. I feel strangely cheated, as I think I would do a better job of it than approximately 46.6% of US citizens. I feel that it should be in countries' interests to invite me to vote in their national elections to improve the quality of the outcome. Please send invitations via my profile in the right column of this page.

More seriously, I ask whether there isn't a case to be made for US "protectorates" like Afghanistan and Iraq to have a voice in who will run their domestic security and reconstruction projects. This doesn't necessary have to be by involvement in presidential elections, but perhaps of a ratification by direct suffrage of nominated American representatives in their country. By extension, should citizens in developing countries, whose social services are funded by foreign donor governments, not be allowed to hold those governments to account. Should they not be allowed to chose who their donors are, if they have such a huge influence on the development of their country? Just imagine a news announcement like: "In Rwanda on Saturday, a new World Bank country representative has been elected by the people of Rwanda. The incumbent, Victoria Kwakwa, confirmed that she would accept the election result and called on her supporters to peacefully accept the decision."

Panorama 10 to 2

This is a panorama of almost all of Kigali. Filmed at the bar Panorama 10 to 2 in Nyamirambo, Kigali.

New Rwandan Parliament

The parliamentary elections in Rwanda were concluded on the 18th September with the RPF (ruling party) being declared the winner with 79% of the vote . The importance of legislature elections in Rwanda is minimal however, due to the all-powerful strength of the presidency and executive.

The European Election Observer Mission described the elections as relatively fair, peaceful and transparent. Congratulations to the government of Rwanda. Their preliminary statement is here. The only major objection they seemed to have was the absence of any opposition parties. Details, details ...

Stuff White People Like

I found this blog some time ago, and I still think it is one of the funniest things I've found on the web to-date. For a sample, have a look at this entry:

Suff White People Like: Comparing People to Hitler
...
Comparing people to Hitler is an easy way for white people to get a strong point across ... Everyone knows who Adolf Hitler was. And everyone knows that Hitler was very, very bad. ... No matter what your gut reaction may be at that point, do not disagree with that white person. Otherwise, well, you love Hitler.
...
It’s also critical that you avoid the fatal mistake of getting creative and comparing people you don’t like to other evil dictators, such as Joseph Stalin or Fidel Castro. With few exceptions, white people are actually fond of almost any dictator not named Hitler, ... oppressive dictators share a passion for many of the things white people love- such as universal health care, conspiracy theories, caring about poor people while being filthy rich, and cool hats. ...

The blog is a perfect parody of the Western liberal middle class. And I recognise myself in there all too often. :)