The Very Familiar, But Not Surprising Troy Davis Case

by Shannon Rose

After disseminating all of the information I could concerning Troy Davis online this morning, I got a message from Mr. Prince A. Lee, asking me to write an article for the Connecticut Black News Network.  I messaged him and told him I didn’t know all of the facts of the case and he told me he was looking more for commentary as opposed to facts.  So, I agreed. 
Troy Davis is scheduled for execution on Wednesday September 21st at 7pm.  His defense team lost it’s bid for appeal on Monday the 19th and again today.  They attempted numerous tactics to get the Georgia Board of Pardons to grant a stay of execution, including offering to take a polygraph test, but again that too was denied.  The NAACP, the ACLU, Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Pope have all requested an immediate stay of execution on behalf of Troy Davis.  People across the country and around the world are staging protests, Facebook campaigns and vigils on behalf of Troy, but as of 5pm Eastern standard, Mr. Davis remains scheduled to die by lethal injection. 
Troy was convicted of the 1989 shooting death of an Atlanta police officer, despite the fact that no gun was recovered, there was no DNA evidence found at the scene and seven out of nine witness affidavits were recanted.  While admitting he was there when the shooting took place, Mr. Davis maintains he was not the shooter.
The prosecution claims ballistic evidence places Troy Davis at the scene of the crime, but this contention, along with many others concerning the evidence compiled in this case are the cause of grave skepticism and should therefore reveal evidence of reasonable doubt, according to Davis’s supporters.  Some compelling questions include, how does ballistic evidence place Troy Davis at the scene, if no murder weapon was ever found?  As well, on what grounds could he be denied appeal, when seven witnesses say their statements were coerced, one witness saying “all the cop wanted to hear was that Troy Davis was the shooter”?  In fact, one woman was reported to have told police that a man that was proven to have been at the scene of the crime, bragged about being the actual shooter.
Again, as I told Mr. Lee, I don’t know all of the facts in the case and I don’t feel as if I’m qualified to write an article about it, however, I do feel Troy Davis has been wrongly convicted and should be granted appeal based on the amount of doubt shrouding this case. 
While I do agree, Troy Davis has received insurmountable support from his family, community and legal team, I think local and federal, Black politicians could have used their office more effectively in pressuring the state of Georgia to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt, in the face of so much doubt, before committing a possibly innocent man to a Georgia death chamber.  I mean, what are they there for, particularly local politicians, if they aren’t going to publicly fight on behalf of their constituency?  What’s more, why do we continue to elect people to office if they aren’t going to exhaust every resource available to them in times of great need? 
Still all of this is neither here nor there, because African Americans are a minority in this country and there is only so much the politicians we elect can do on our behalf.  We don’t have the economic power and therefore the political clout to effect the outcomes of civil or criminal litigation, even when the evidence surmounted against us is shoty at best.  Hear in lies the real problem with the Troy Davis case, for if he were able to afford some high powered, hot shot attorney, we all know, nine times out of ten, the evidence in this case would have been found inconclusive and Troy Davis would be a free man.  The fact remains, we as a community must fortify our economic foundation by keeping our dollar in our community.  According to Dr. Claude Anderson “a dollar is supposed to bounce eleven times within its community before it bounces one time outside of it”, but we all know this.  Dr. Anderson is one of one hundred scholars that have been trying to get the African American community to understand that we have been programmed to be diametrically opposed to profit sharing and until we break this affliction of economic retardation we will have a million Troy Davis’s.  In light of this very well known notion, but still very ignored, ironically, indeed, I am Troy Davis, you are Troy Davis the entire  African American community is Troy Davis.       

National Black Women's Convention/The Pan Africana Women's AMANDLA (Power) Summit - TheBlackList Pub

National Black Women's Convention/The Pan Africana Women's AMANDLA (Power) Summit - TheBlackList Pub

LA CÔTE D’IVOIRE C’EST LE 1

by William Adouconou

LA CÔTE D’IVOIRE C’EST LE : - 1 er PRODUCTEUR MONDIAL DE CACAO - 1 er EXPORTATEUR D’ANANAS VERS L’EUROPE - 1 er PRODUCTEUR AFRICAIN DE BANANE - 1 er PRODUCTEUR AFRICAIN DE CAFE ROBUSTA - 1 er PRODUCTEUR AFRICAIN DE CAOUTCHOU NATUREL LA CÔTE D’IVOIRE, U...N ESPACE OUVERT AU MONDE Située au cœur de l’Afrique de l’ouest, et d’une végétation généreuse sur le golf de Guinée, la Côte d’Ivoire s’étend sur une superficie de 322 000 Km2, pour une population de près de 21 600 000 habitants, qu’elle a su entretenir avec le soutien d’une économie aux grands atouts, ainsi que par diverses et riches potentialités agricoles, minières, pétrolière, touristiques, etc… La côte d’Ivoire qui compte plus de 26% d’allogènes venus y travailler (le plus fort taux d’immigration au monde), est considérée à juste titre comme la porte d’entrée, le centre des affaires par excellence de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, pour toutes les commodités dont elle dispose et qui permettent des échanges aisés au plan local et régional.. LA DIMENSION ECONOMIQUE La Côte d’Ivoire occupe une position de leader en Afrique de l’Ouest, grâce à sa balance commerciale positive par rapport à l’ensemble des pays de l’UEMOA, de la CEDEAO et des principaux blocs économiques au sein desquels elle occupe une place prépondérante… 45% MARCHE DES ASSURANCES Considérée comme terre d’investissement sûrs, parce que détenant 45% du marché des assurances en Afrique francophone (hors Maghreb), la Côte d’Ivoire représente près de la moitié de la masse monétaire de la zone franc. Ce qui confirme sa place de meneur sur le plan économique dans l’ouest Africain, et précisément au sein de l’Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africain (UEMOA)… Au niveau des exportations, on peut noter de net progrès. En effet, de deuxième exportateur mondial, la Côte d’Ivoire est devenue en deux décennies le premier producteur mondial de cacao à hauteur de plus de 1 200 00 tonnes par an. Elle est aujourd’hui un pays exportateur de plusieurs produits agricoles notamment: - le Caoutchouc naturel (plus de 350 000 tonnes/an) - la banane (plus de 224 000 tonnes/an) - le palmier à huile ( plus de 273 000tonnes/an ) Avec un rang de premier producteur et exportateur pour chaque secteur ci-dessus.. Il est par conséquent un partenaire privilégié des pays consommateurs notamment en ce qui concerne l’ananas dont il est le premier fournisseurs sur le marché Européen. Tous ces produits sont le reflet du potentiel exportable qui fait de la Côte d’Ivoire un espace ouvert au monde avec d’immenses possibilités de partenariats bilatéraux. A côte de ces cultures d’exportations bien connues, les légumes et fleures pourraient se révéler d’intéressantes sources de diversification pour la Côte d’Ivoire. Décidé à jouer son rôle d’accompagnateur de développement du secteur privé, le gouvernement ivoirien envisage en effet miser sur ces produits…Pour les fleures, l’origine Côte d’Ivoire bénéficie déjà depuis plusieurs années d’une bonne réputation chez les acheteurs étrangers…Ils font vivre une dizaine de sociétés exportatrices… La Côte d’Ivoire est aussi l’un des rares pays exportateurs d’ananas fleurs. La Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR) qui est considérée comme la plus grande de l’Afrique Subsaharienne, la Société Nationale de Recherche de Pétrole( PETROCI), et la Société des Mines (SODEMI) constituent les trois maillions essentiels du rêve minier Ivoirien qui du reste est matérialisé par un important volume existant de gaz, de gisements miniers (or; nickel; etc…)dans l’ouest du pays. En outre, de récentes et immenses découvertes de pétrole viennent consolider l’autosuffisance du pays au plan des mines afin de favoriser de la sorte, l’exportation de l’excédent vers le reste du monde à l’instar de l’électricité qui se vend déjà à des pays voisins. Toujours au chapitre du développement économique, l’on remarquera que le solide tissu industriel de la Côte d’Ivoire l’a aidé à renforcer à faire prospérer davantage son commerce extérieur.. APPUIS AU DEVELOPPEMENT ECONOMIQUE La constante recherche de partenariat ouvert devant permettre à la Côte d’Ivoire d’améliorer et garantir la qualité des produits et services offerts au reste du monde, l’amènera à créer divers organes aux attributions tout aussi différentes que complémentaires pour dynamiser ses actions commerciales. Il s’agit notamment : - du CEPICI (Centre de la Promotion et d’Investissement en Côte d’Ivoire) qui est se charge de la promotion des investissements dans tous les secteurs d’activités; -de l’APEX-CI (Association pour la Promotion des Exportations de Côte d’Ivoire) -de CODINORM (Côte d’ivoire Normalisation) crée pour la certification et la normalisation des produits Ivoiriens. En outre, les différentes chambres consulaires d’Agriculture, des métiers, du Commerce et de l’Industrie, pour la prise en main des préoccupations du secteur privé. Le ministère du Commerce, à travers sa direction générale chargée du commerce extérieur, est chargé de centraliser toutes les activités se rapportant au domaine de l’exportation. Pour soutenir et encadrer toutes les actions commerciales entreprises, des mesures et des instruments judiciaires ont été mis en place, de façon à rassurer les partenaires et étendre d’avantage les marchés à tous les horizons, à tous les pays membres de l’OMC sans exclusive. La Côte d’Ivoire a par ailleurs mis en œuvre des actions de transferts de technologie pour la transformation de ses produits de base afin que ceux-ci soient plus compétitifs et puissent répondre aux normes de marchés extérieurs de consommation concurrence de plus en plus exigeants. La Côte d’Ivoire a décidé d’accroitre la production de base par l’introduction de nouvelles méthodes tertiaires de façon à accentuer ses positions de leader sur les marchés régionaux et mondiaux. La Côte d’Ivoire est dotée d’infrastructures portuaires et aéroportuaires modernes par lesquels transitent les marchandises en provenance et à destinations de ses voisins enclavés que sont le Burkina Faso; le Mali et le Niger ( et quelque fois la Guinée). Avec autant de diversité au niveau de ses produits, la Côte d’Ivoire compte devenir très vite le carrefour portuaire de toute l’Afrique Subsaharienne. La notoriété et la crédibilité de la Côte d’Ivoire résident dans la confiance de ses partenaires et surtout dans la qualité et la diversité de ses produits.

Ghana Repatriation & Investment Tours Planned For 2012

Ghana Repatriation & Investment Tours Planned For 2012

Nigeria's Historic Opportunity

By JEFFREY D. SACHS
Published: May 30, 2011

ABUJA, NIGERIA — Visiting Nigeria the week of President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration is a special privilege. This country of nearly 160 million people, about one in five of sub-Saharan Africa, is on to something historic. The people feel it. After a sometimes agonizing half-century since independence, Nigeria is on the verge of a takeoff.

In my conversations with President Jonathan — who took the oath of office on Sunday — and with government ministers, leading businesspeople and representatives of civil society groups, I felt a firm determination to ensure that this time, in this decade, Nigeria fulfills its potential to become an African economic powerhouse and a member of the world’s leading emerging economies. In practical terms, Nigeria would like to make the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the BRINCS by the end of the decade.

To those who only know Nigeria as a country that squanders its oil wealth, this ambition might seem outlandish. But for those of us who have had the chance to work with its leadership, this goal seems fully with reach.

There are five solid reasons for optimism. The first is the reform that Nigeria has been undertaking over the past dozen years. The country has changed since June 8, 1998, when the brutal dictator Sani Abacha died, opening the way for a restoration of civilian rule and the strengthening of critical institutions, including the National Assembly and state and district governments.

The second is the advent of democratic elections. President Jonathan came to power last year when his predecessor, Umaru Yar’Adua, died in office. This April he won a resounding mandate of his own in elections that were praised by observers as by far the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history. The president’s democratic mandate is not in doubt, even if tensions linger in Nigeria’s traditional north-south ethnic divide.

The third is the global wind in Nigeria’s sails. The rise of China and India is reshaping the world economy, and providing solid support for Nigeria’s growth. Commodity prices are high, as the Asian giants tap global markets. Nigeria can expect to sell not only its vast hydrocarbon deposits at good prices, but also a wide range of agricultural products and manufactured goods. The links with Asia won’t be only through exports. China is determined to be a major partner, financing core infrastructure — highways, rail and power grids — and developing major industrial capacity.

The fourth is the “age of convergence,” the tendency of developing countries like Nigeria to make unprecedented economic advances through the deployment of best practices and advanced technologies. China, of course, has been doubling its G.D.P. every seven years with blistering economic growth rates of 10 percent per year. Nigeria is enjoying robust annual growth of around 7 percent, and could catch up to China’s rate if policies are well designed and implemented. Information technologies are rapidly spreading, from the heart of sprawling Lagos to the most remote villages. For the first time, Nigeria will have a network of up-to-date information, providing a platform for sharply higher productivity and economic specialization.

The fifth is Nigeria’s commitment to tackling extreme poverty and disease throughout the nation. The president’s senior adviser on the Millennium Development Goals, working with the National Assembly, has been leading a bold mechanism to transfer federal funds to state and local governments in a robust and accountable manner. All over the country, schools, clinics and water points are being built. It’s a great honor for us at the Earth Institute to be working with the government on this initiative.

Nigeria’s international partners can also take a bow. Back in 2005, they entrusted Nigeria with partial debt relief, and the country is turning money that otherwise would have gone toward debt payments into local investments in health, education and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, a series of finance ministers has been working to end Nigeria’s image as a place of financial scams and official corruption. Prosecutors have warned international oil companies to clean up their act — even indicting Halliburton for corruption and obtaining a settlement from the company.

Of course, Nigeria still faces very real risks. The country’s population is enormously diverse, with sharp regional and religious divisions. Violence continues to flare. Global climate change poses risks to health, agricultural development and water supplies. A recent U.N. report notes that Nigeria’s rapidly growing population could exceed 700 million by the end of this century, unless family planning services are put in place. The public wants these services; the government’s challenge is to respond effectively.

I’ve watched nations on the eve of economic takeoff, in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. Optimism is in the air in Abuja, and for good reason.

Nabil Abdul Rashid (Comedian) Responds to David Starkey "Whites Have bec...

Dr. Claud Anderson: Powernomics (Baltimore Maryland Lecture)