HWC 14-15

The article in question states that a U.S. drone strike had killed the leader of a Somali militant and piracy group. The death of the group's leader may lead to a severe power struggle and weakening of the group. This relates to our discussion and Friedman's arguments because the US was able to land a critical military blow from all the way around the world.

This article shares information about the first lady of Zimbabwe and information about her degree. But, other than that, this article delves into the corruption of Robert Mugabe and how he has been accused of rigging elections to maintain power and how his wife has overspent. This relates to our activity because it talks about Robert Mugabe and his wife, who were in the article.

The strategy Obama plans to take against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria would be similar to the al-Qaida attacks. The airstrikes Obama has been sending have killed key militant leaders and are fewer than the al-Qaida ones. Somali security forces have combined with African Unions and have made advances against this terrorist group that has taken over territory in 2 countries. This relates to the terrorist group in Somalia that we read about in the first article.

This article relates to Somalia by giving an example of the famine that was declared there in 2011, and how it was quickly defeated. This gives an example of how quickly the media can be used to create awareness in country just like how the media created awareness about the terrorist groups in Somalia.

U.S. airstrikes in Somalia in the week of September 3rd were targeted at the group that claimed responsibility for many bombings in Somalia like the Kenya Westgate mall. These missiles hit their intended target, Ahmen Godane, the leader of the Islamist group al-Shabaab.

This article is about the trial of an army officer who lead attacks on many villages in the DRC. He is accused of leading mass murder, rape, kidnapping and sexual violence. This relates to the activity because it shows rape being used as a weapon of war.

Joseph Kabila has named to a top army post a general accused by U.N. experts of selling weapons to rebel groups responsible for massacring civilians in East DRC. This also refers to the first article from Part F, where the government was violent towards innocent people. These actions from Kabila have been going on since a known period in 2012.

Dutch farmers are suing the government of Zimbabwe because they say that they were illegally evicted from their land. After Zimbabwe took control of this land they found a lot of diamonds and other minerals on the farm land. The Dutch farmers think that they should get the diamonds and money because the Zimbabwean government took away their land. This refers to the article from Part E because people were evicted from their homes unfairly.

In the article, it describes how the government is still working on land reform even though in the article for Part E, it says land reform failed. They are having Land Commission meetings on how to improve land reform for the future.

This article talks about what current officials are doing about the land crisis. This relates to the activity in that the government's failed land reform is affecting the current issues in Zimbabwean politics.

This article gives a description about a collapsed church which containted TB Joshua, a political opposition of the current Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe. This article also ends with an interesting part about a small plane circling over the building, which could mean it was an inside job by Robert Mugabe to eliminate pressure for him to win another election. This may or may not be true, just my thoughts. 

This article describes the war and rape going on in the DRC and states that people unknowingly support this when they use their cell phones. this directly links to this activity because it restates what "Commentary: Stop the 'Vampires' in the Congo" describes.

On September 9, Somali refugees in Kenya are facing threats to their security and rights. Refugees International has called upon the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) to enlarge its efforts to protect the Somali refugees. The UNHCR was called to increase its staff in Kenya in order to uphold its urban refugee policy, and on Kenya to sustain its obligations under the agreement between Kenya and Somali governments.

This article discusses how soldiers are taking advantage of the people they have come to assist and serve. this relates to our discussion because it relates to how different factions in Somalia are using anything to gain power, even through shady deals and offers

The main Ebola outbreaks are contained in western Africa. However, there has been a recent outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has been assured that this outbreak will not grow much larger, but the death toll has reached 32.

This article is about the alleged assaults of Oliver Nyagondo from police officers with a baton stick under his feet and all over his body several times after suspecting he had broken into officer Mumpande's house in Mvuma. Mupande allegedly stated Nyagondo was dying but he said he refused to take a criminal to the hospital.

This article outlines the economy of Zimbabwe, mainly noting that it is quickly falling behind. One of the things noted is that farmers that lost land from the land reform should be compensated for their losses.

This article discusses the story of one man who was convicted for child rape and abuse by putting them into war. But, like in the articles that we read, he most likely bribed the judge for a less harsh sentence. Originally he was supposed to serve 12+ but instead he was partially forgiven and will serve slightly less than 6 years. My thought would be that he bribed the judge in order to receive a reduced sentence, which just goes to show how corrupt the system truly is that he can do such horrible things but weasel his way out of it with money. 

The National Railway of Zimbabwe's entire railway system has been ruined to a point where enginemen have to fall back on using cellphones to communicate. This system is becoming a hazard for travelers because there are no available signals for trains.

This article discusses bringing peace to DRC. There has been a genocide in the DRC that has been going on for 129 years with over 6 million deaths. This relates to the articles because it talks about the physical rape of women and children and how the children are forced to kill, work in the mines, and become addicted to drugs, thus ruining their childhood.

This article talks about the problem of rape in in Congo--Kinshasa. The article goes on to say that the DRC is being "raped of resouces", and that the currents events are a "rape of a nation" which of course would be the DRC.

This article talks about both the literal and figurative rape occurring within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Women have been raped, leaving mental scars, and the country suffers from exploitation of its resources and corruption (the figurative rape). Empowerment of women and stronger government institutions are needed to resolve these problems. This relates to many issues in the activity: rape of women, exploitation of resources, and corrupt government, all within the DRC.

This article gives information about one of the rebel groups and their concerns. The rebel group wants assurance from the government that the territory that the rebel group controls will protect the citizens from the FDLR. If they agree, all 2,800 members will hand over their weapons. This relates to the articles because because it shows distrust in the government from rebel groups and that the citizens still need protection and the government doesn't always supply it.

The article in question states that a certain rebel group (MMK) are merely trying to defend themselves and the civilians in the areas that they control, and that they will not turn over their weapons unless the government makes assurances that civilians will be protected. This relates to our discussion because it shows that rebels have more power than the central government in certain areas, and that rebellions are sometimes needed to secure liberty.

This article details a rebel group in Congo-Kinshasa who formed because they were threatened by rebel forces from Rwanda. The government has asked the group to hand over all weapons in order to restore peace to the Congo. This relates to the activity because the Congo is currently trying to restore itself to a state of peace and order after years of bad leaders and the civil war.