The Next Asia Is Africa: Inside the Continent's Rapid Economic Growth

Africa, with a population expected to roughly double by mid-century, has become recognized as the world's fastest growing continent. But the less-told story is of Africa's economic rise. In the last decade Africa's overall growth rates have quietly approachedthose of Asia, and according to projections by the IMF, on average Africa will have the world's fastest growing economy of any continent over the next five years.

Seven Of The World's 10 Fastest-Growing Economies Are African

Seven of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies are African. The continent is famously resource rich, which has surely helped, but some recent studies suggest that the biggest drivers are far less customary for Africa, and far more encouraging for its future: wholesale and retail commerce, transportation, telecommunications, and manufacturing.

A recent report by the African Development Bank projected that, by 2030, much of Africa will attain lower-middle- and middle-class majorities, and that consumer spending will explode from $680 billion in 2008 to $2.2 trillion. According to McKinsey and Co., Africa already has more middle class consumers than India, which has a larger population. Goldman Sachs recently put out a report, "Africa's Turn," making similar points.

American media have largely failed to pick up on these trends, hewing instead to their long-running traditional narratives of African violence and suffering to the exclusion of most other news. Corporate America, though, is proving itself increasingly attentive to Africa as a big new growth story. Big companies, from retail to technology, are approaching Africa as a promising new growth frontier. Many are already investing heavily there. read entire article

Quote of the Week: Why is African history relevant by Dr. Runoko Rashidi

"Why is African history relevant to African-American youth? Because an African-American youth who knows that he is descended from the people who gave humanity and science to the world, who knows that he is descended from royalty, is not likely to shoot his brother and brutalize his sister. The young African-American sister who knows that god was first worshipped in the form of a Black woman will not allow herself to be called a bitch."
--Runoko Rashidi

Florida GOP: "We want to suppress black votes"

Florida, Florida, Florida -- as Tim Russert famously lamented:

The state that delivered us Bush/Cheney via a 2000 high-jacked election; Florida, perhaps the nation's most important battleground swing state; Florida; the host of the 2012 GOP convention -- and now our worst suspicions confirmed:

In the debate over new laws meant to curb voter fraud in places like Florida, Democrats always charge that Republicans are trying to suppress the vote of liberal voting blocs like blacks and young people, while Republicans just laugh at such ludicrous and offensive accusations. That is, every Republican except for Florida’s former Republican Party chairman Jim Greer, who, scorned by his party and in deep legal trouble, blew the lid off what he claims was a systemic effort to suppress the black vote. In a 630-page deposition recorded over two days in late May, Greer, who is on trial for corruption charges, unloaded a litany of charges against the “whack-a-do, right-wing crazies” in his party, including the effort to suppress the black vote.

In the deposition, released to the press yesterday, Greer mentioned a December 2009 meeting with party officials. “I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting,” he said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He also said party officials discussed how “minority outreach programs were not fit for the Republican Party,” according to the AP. source

We have long suspected that the GOP's voter fraud crusade is nothing more than a witch-hunt to suppress minority voters. We know how the GOP plays the game -- down and dirty. Now, under sworn oath -- straight from the horses mouth -- is the smoking gun.

The GOP has long abandoned reaching out to black voters and have engaged in voter suppression: keep blacks form voting. This is nothing new. Some of our jack legged deceivers preachers actively -- out of greed -- participated in black vote suppression:

Christine Todd Whitman's campaign made payments to black ministers and Democratic Party workers in exchange for promises not to rally votes for Gov. Jim Florio in the final stages of the New Jersey gubernatorial race, her campaign manager said today.

The manager, Edward J. Rollins, said the campaign funneled about $500,000 in such "walking around money" from the state Republican Party. Those efforts to depress the vote in urban, heavily Democratic areas, he said, were important in Mrs. Whitman's narrow upset victory.

Mr. Rollins said the campaign made donations to pro-Florio ministers who agreed not to press the Governor's cause from the pulpit and payments to Democratic Party workers who sat Election Day out.

A spokesman for one black clergy group in New Jersey said today that he knew of no one who had received money from the Whitman campaign.

Speaking to reporters at a breakfast meeting, Mr. Rollins described the payments to ministers as contributions to their "favorite charities."

He added: "The ministers obviously play a very critical role in the black community, and we attempted to neutralize them. We basically had a dialogue with them." source

And that was in 1993!

The election is in around 100 days and the question is: Are you going to make sure your vote counts? If so, now is the time to make sure your voter registration is valid and up-to-date.

If Obama loses the election, here’s why

Sunday morning in the Opinion section of the Washington Post ,there was an interesting article analyzing the three factors that may cost  President Obama reelection in 2012.

 I must confess, before reading the piece I was initially apprehensive: Yet another Obama hater coming out the woodwork with irrationality disguised as honest critique.

At this point in time, my anti-Obama fatigue is running high. 

Why? First of all, it is very disingenuous: The most verbal anti-Obama mob is the GOP party (and their deep pocket lobbyist). This crowd created the economic crisis -- worse since the Great Depression -- refused to lift a finger in bipartisan support and have gone out their way to stall our recovery.

So, any Obama critique from this crowd is dismissed as fiction or much worse propaganda by me. 


But lo and behold, I must say: If Obama loses the election, here's why is right on point. And -- to borrow the authors title -- here's why I agree:

First things first, the three major Obama mistakes/miscalculations: (link to article)

Natural Hair is Good Hair: Sistas going natural

In my adopted hometown, Washington, DC -- Mocha City if not Chocolate City anymore --  it is common to see fly sistas, of all hues, majestically embracing and sporting natural hair styles.

These sisters feel liberated to enhance and accentuate their naturally good hair.They wear: locs, twists, fros, braids, buns, updos etc.


Disclosure: I have nothing against sisters who wear hair styles that conform to Western culture standards. 

On the contrary: It's about choices.

 I am gratified that sisters have options. Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, it was taboo for black women -- with mainstream ambitions -- to wear natural hair styles (noted exception: the 1960's era).

Sisters felt compelled by family, community, black males, and corporate America to conform to Westernized hair care sensibilities.This
meant they had to relax their hair. 


Funny or ironic thing is: to so-call relax their hair sisters have to apply a heavy dose of stress to their hair and scalp via the infamous perm. 


Natural hair is not only more healthy, it is more beautiful and versatile.