[$tinkle]

i had thought things were quieting in the congo, til i read this:

With focus on the Middle East, brutal fighting in Congo is worsening

of note:

For years, all the armed groups have raped women and girls. But the blood-curdling violence goes further. With their genital organs mutilated after or during rape, the women often suffer fistulas, or holes, that lead to incontinence and obstructed childbirth.

Yakin Ertürk, UN special rapporteur on violence against women, visited Congo in July and reported the horrors. "Women are brutally gang raped, often in front of their families and communities," she said. "In numerous cases, male relatives are forced at gunpoint to rape their own daughters, mothers, or sisters. Frequently women are shot or stabbed in their genital organs after they are raped. Women who survived months of enslavement told me that their tormentors had forced them to eat [excrement] or the human flesh of murdered relatives."

Other monitoring groups, namely Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Doctors Without Borders, are finding similar stories. In an October report on North Kivu, HRW chronicled the story of one rape counselor. She was carrying a woman, a rape victim who had a piece of wood inserted in her vagina, on her back. When the woman died, rebel forces forced the counselor to bury the body.

"When I finished, they said that they would rape me," she told HRW. "I told them, if you want to rape me, let me first pray. There were eight of them. I prayed. When I stopped praying, four refused to rape me, but the other four said that they would not leave without raping me. They raped me, they hit me, for six hours, from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m."

With the risk of more such atrocities growing, the United States—at $500 million in aid one of Congo's largest donors—cannot afford to ignore a brewing conflict in the heart of Africa. During Kabila's White House visit, President Bush urged him to forgo a planned offensive against Nkunda. In North Kivu, Lavand'homme—who sees emergency needs 24/7—doubts the nudge from Washington is enough.

and just like iraq after the fall of the 'pub guard, how do you distinguish good guy from bad guy, even after you've arbitrarily chosen sides?

bloody awful mess. don't think even we could **** this up any further. and our $500M has already "bought" our way in, eh?

 

[manimal]

i can see blackwater and/or other merc companies playing a big role in that situation and i doubt the public backlash would be as severe considering the level of atrocities going on. heck, i might even sign up for a tour w/ the mercs for this one.

 

[Serial Midget]

How much oil they got?

I doubt some of the allegations - for instance: forcing men to rape their daughters at gun point. Being forced to perform at gun point is pretty much a wood killer for me.

 

[SPINTECK]

The US only goes to war for money. How many contracts will Cheney get??

 

[rockwool]

How much oil they got?

Looks it could be fruitfull for some, buy some stocks quick!

Natural resources:
cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber

Oil - production:
21,090 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - consumption:
8,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports:
229,700 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - imports:
8,220 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
187 million bbl (1 January 2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
991.1 million cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html#Econ

Might as well hit this place to make sure you get the right Congo:

Oil - production:
267,100 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
6,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves:
1.506 billion bbl (1 January 2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
90.61 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cf.html

Will Cheney make tripple figures?

 

[DaveW]

They got a lot of daimonds in that area.... Mrs Shrub need a jewelery update?

 

[X3pilot]

Next time can we intervene somewhere that has vast Bacon reserves?

just askin'.

 

[$tinkle]

I doubt some of the allegations - for instance: forcing men to rape their daughters at gun point. Being forced to perform at gun point is pretty much a wood killer for me.

i'll admit the pressures to perform may prevent a worthy performance, but all it takes is a quick look at our behaviour in abu-ghraib to take a more liberal definition of rape [including sodomy]. so yeah, i doubt they make them snort crushed viagra while making them look at a nat'l geographic.


but, this is pretty much teh suck. let's take a moment to remember some light reading: "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" - war & peace

 

[MarinR00]

I'm not going to the Congo bro. This place is sh!tty enough.

 

[blue]

We need Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner...

 

[MikeD]

I'm not going to the Congo bro. This place is sh!tty enough.

Lucky you; I'll probably be in Burundi next spring...

 

[valve bouncer]

Lucky you; I'll probably be in Burundi next spring...

Assuming the Tutsis and the Hutus aren't chopping each other up I'd reckon that will probably be a pretty cool place to visit. I'd go, actually I can't really think of any place in Africa I wouldn't go to at the moment. South Africa is probably the scariest.

 

[MikeD]

Assuming the Tutsis and the Hutus aren't chopping each other up I'd reckon that will probably be a pretty cool place to visit. I'd go, actually I can't really think of any place in Africa I wouldn't go to at the moment. South Africa is probably the scariest.

Well, if we end up there, we'll have like a 5-bedroom house, so you'll be welcome to come visit...can't say what the security restrictions will be at that point, though...

 

[valve bouncer]

Well, if we end up there, we'll have like a 5-bedroom house, so you'll be welcome to come visit...can't say what the security restrictions will be at that point, though...

I've always wanted to go to Uganda, which is right next door, the pearl of Africa. That would be a cool posting if you could get it and even better if it gives you a chance to travel through Southern/Eastern Africa. Apparently Tanzania is stunning.

 

[$tinkle]

Lucky you; I'll probably be in Burundi next spring...

shackin' up w/ the peace corps & pushing UN land rovers out of the mud?

 

[bohorec]

Lucky you; I'll probably be in Burundi next spring...

Looks bikeable:

http://www.robertmunro.com/bike/africa/burundi.html

 

[MikeD]

Cool link; thanks!

 

[DaveW]

Well, if we end up there, we'll have like a 5-bedroom house, so you'll be welcome to come visit...can't say what the security restrictions will be at that point, though...

Gotta be better than Bagdad's!