Recent polling from Public Policy Polling and Research 2000 suggests that Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek is in terrific position to win Florida’s 2010 U.S. Senate race. With Republican Marco Rubio well ahead of primary challenger Charlie Crist in the polls, but far behind on fundraising, Rubio will likely emerge victorious from the primary, but out of campaign funds and politically badly bruised, as well as positioned to the extreme right ideologically. Congressman Meek, on the other hand, is steadily campaigning and fundraising and will be well-positioned for the general election.
As such, Senate Guru has added Congressman Meek’s campaign to its Expand the Map! ActBlue fundraising page, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Democratic candidates for Senate in the 2008 and current 2010 cycles.
To kick off the addition of Congressman Meek, we’re looking to start off with just $100 raised to get the ball rolling. Just five $20 contributions would be a great start! Can you chip in $20?
America. I have to tell you. Your worst fears have been realized.
It’s true. All of it.
Every radical statement made about you is true. You are so much – so much! – worse than you believe. Your Progressivism is the little tickle that you think is a cold – but it’s lung cancer. Your Conservatism is the little itch that you think might be poison oak – but it’s flesh-eating bacteria. Nothing is what you think it is, and everything is as bad as possible.
Cross posted from Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.
In 1999, when he purchased his first treadle pump, Robert Mwanza, a farmer in Lusaka, Zambia, was struggling to make ends meet and without reliable access to water. As his country dealt with drought and economic weakness, Robert lacked the necessary resources to irrigate his farm and “couldn’t grow enough to eat, let alone sell.”
Access to water is a luxury that many rural households, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, do not have. Farmers must often travel long distances to collect water from streams or public wells, making it impossible to irrigate crops or have enough water for cooking and bathing.
IDE is making irrigation more efficient by combining technology specially designed to address the needs of small-scale farmers with on-the-ground support staff to provide training and education. This allows farmers to expand their farms, feed their families, and earn a profit from selling surplus crops.
After just two years of improved irrigation provided by a treadle pump, Robert Mwanza grew more than enough vegetables to feed his wife and eight children. He also earned enough money to purchase an additional pump, doubling the amount of land he could irrigate. He recruited his brother, Andrew Mwanza, to work the additional pump, and in three years, with the help of IDE field staff, Robert began to sell his produce to Agriflora, a company that exports high-quality vegetables to Europe. Now the two brothers are growing enough vegetables to afford a motorized petrol pump for $750, further reducing the labor required to increase production.
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On March 17th, Congressman Dale Kildee of Michigan announced he will cast a yes vote on health care. Kildee, a pro-life Democrat, was considered a question mark after voting for the Stupak-Pitts abortion amendment in the House version of the health care bill.
Kildee, who has a liberal voting record except on abortion, has said he is “a staunch pro-life member of Congress.” First elected in 1976, Kildee has never faced a serious primary or general election challenge. Throughout his 33 years in office he has been an advocate for children and on labor issues. Kildee, a Roman Catholic, is known for his strong pro-life stance.
In his written statement Kildee said, “There is nothing more pro-life than protecting the lives of 31 million Americans. Voting for this bill in no way diminishes my pro-life voting record or undermines my beliefs. I am a staunch pro-life member of Congress — both for the born and the unborn.”
The announcement by Kildee adds to the growing list of House members who have committed to voting for the bill after being considered on the fence. Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN) announced his support for the bill, as did Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.). Perriello also backed the Stupak-Pitts amendment in November, 2009.
While support for passage of the bill is growing in Congress, another announcement may be as significant. A consortium of 60 leaders of Catholic religious orders representing 59,000 nuns sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to pass the bill. This is in direct opposition to the stance of The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which says the bill’s anti-abortion provisions are not strong enough.
I know a lot of my friends on the right are stressed about the Democrat’s healthcare bill, so here’s a bit of positive news that might help just a tad:
“The Congressional Budget Office has determined that the health reform plan will cost $940 billion over 10 years, but will trim the federal deficit by $130 billion in the first ten years and $1.2 trillion in the second ten years, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said. Those deficit numbers should help ease the worries of deficit hawks on the fence about supporting the bill.”
It’s hard to believe, but an estimated 2.6 billion people in the developing world—nearly a third of the global population—still lack access to basic sanitation services. This presents a significant hygiene risk, especially in densely populated urban areas and slums where contaminated drinking water can spread disease rapidly. Every year, some 1.5 million children die from diarrhea caused by poor sanitation and hygiene.
It is in these crowded cities, too, that food security is weakened by the lack of clean, nutrient-rich soil as well as growing space available for local families.
But there is an inexpensive solution to both problems. A recent innovation, called the Peepoo, is a disposable bag that can be used once as a toilet and then buried in the ground. Urea crystals in the bag kill off disease-producing pathogens and break down the waste into fertilizer, simultaneously eliminating the sanitation risk and providing a benefit for urban gardens. After successful test runs in Kenya and India, the bags will be mass produced this summer and sold for U.S. 2–3 cents each, making them more accessible to those who will benefit from them the most.
In post-earthquake Haiti, where many poor and homeless residents are forced to live in garbage heaps and to relieve themselves wherever they can find privacy, SOIL/SOL, a non-profit working to improve soil and convert waste into a resource, is partnering with Oxfam GB to build indoor dry toilets for 25 families as well as four public dry toilets. The project will establish a waste composting site to convert dry waste into fertilizer and nutrient-rich soil that can then be used to grow vegetables in rooftop gardens and backyards.
In Malawi, Stacia and Kristof Nordin’s permaculture project (which Nourishing the Planet co-director Danielle Nierenberg visited during her tour of Africa) uses a composting toilet to fertilize the crops. Although these units can be expensive to purchase and install, one company, Rigel Technology, manufactures a toilet that costs just US$30 and separates solid from fluid waste, converting it into fertilizer. The Indian non-profit Sulabh International also promotes community units that convert methane from waste into biogas for cooking.
On a larger scale, wetlands outside of Calcutta, India, process some 600 million liters of raw sewage delivered from the city every day in 300 fish-producing ponds. These wetlands produce 13,000 tons of fish annually for consumption by the city’s 12 million inhabitants. They also serve as an environmentally sound waste treatment center, with hyacinths, algal blooms, and fish disposing of the waste, while also providing a home for migrating birds and an important source of local food for the population of Calcutta. (See also “Fish Production Reaches a Record.”)
Aside from cost and installation, the main obstacles to using human waste to fertilize crops are cultural and behavioral. UNICEF notes in an online case study that a government-run program in India provided 33 families in the village of Bahtarai with latrines near their houses. But the majority of villagers still preferred to use the fields as toilets, as they were accustomed to doing their whole lives. “It is not enough just to construct the toilets,” said Gaurav Dwivedi, Collector and Bilaspur District Magistrate. “We have to change the thinking of people so that they are amenable to using the toilets.”
Thank you for reading! If you enjoy our diary every day we invite you to get involved:
1. Comment on our daily posts—we check comments everyday and look forward to a regular ongoing discussion with you.
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…the clip shows a man holding a sign, explaining that he has Parkinson’s and needs health care reform to pass. When he sat on the pavement near the reform opponents, a conservative activist proceeded to lecture the man: “You’re looking for a hand-out, you’re in the wrong end of town. Nothing for free over here, you have to work for everything you get.”
For those of you interested in Jerusalem and its place in this conflict, Akiva Eldar posted an editorial in Haaretz today that I think is spot on: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/s…
Thanks for all of your participation. My blogging time has been cut to a minimum for a host of pressing reasions and I apologize for neglecting the comments section.
Events in Jerusalem this week have focused on the [re]dedication of a synagogue, aptly named Hurva, a term associated with the destruction of ancient Jerusalem and of both Temples. The synagogue in question was first built in the middle of the Jewish Quarter of the walled city at the turn of the 18th century, though its location has been linked archaeologically to a series of synagogues dating back to the 2nd century CE. Soon after its establishment, the community that founded it sought to expand it, but due to expensive bribes to the Ottoman authorities and escalating construction costs, its leaders were forced to borrow from Muslims. In 1720, after losing patience with their Jewish debtors, these Muslim creditors burned it down. Its remains became known as the “Hurva,” linking this contemporary catastrophe to ancient ones referred to traditionally as the “hurban.” In the early 19th century, a group of Jews began a decades long effort to obtain permission from Istanbul to rebuild the synagogue, despite the community’s outstanding debts. In 1836, Muhammad Ali of Egypt annexed the city and permitted reconstruction, but the Jews built only a small structure at the edge of the ruined compound. Two decades later, they commenced construction of the synagogue itself. The resulting domed structure dominated the Jewish Quarter until 1948, when it was demolished along with the rest of the area by the Jordanian Arab Legion after its inhabitants surrendered and left the Old City.
Cross posted from Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.
When we arrived by bus at the HIV/AIDS Resource Center in Katuna, Uganda (the border between Rwanda and Uganda), twenty men were intently watching a match between Manchester United and Chelsea on a small television. Along with the pool table, board games, and additional television downstairs, soccer games provide a much needed distraction for the long-distance truckers who have to wait for their vehicles to be cleared by customs before entering Rwanda.
But just eight months ago, instead of television and camaraderie among workers, the easiest diversion for truckers was sex. Katuna is one of many towns along what is known as the Northern Transport Corridor-a span of highway that stretches from Mombasa, Kenya through Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and all the way to Djibouti.
In the past, the truckers were often delayed for days on the border, giving them little to do. Boredom-and drinking-often led to unsafe sex with prostitutes at the truck stops along the highway. As a result, truck drivers have one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Africa. Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t stop with them, and is often spread to their spouses.
Now, thanks to the work of the Solidarity Center, a non-profit launched by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organziations (AFL-CIO) to empower workers around the world by helping them form unions, and Uganda’s Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (ATGWU), which has about 3,500 members in
Uganda, the amount of time truckers spend on the border has been reduced from days to just hours. The union has worked through bargaining with the government to reduce the amount of time it takes their paper to go through which reduced the amount of free time they have on the border. When they don’t have as much free time, they’re not as likely to engage in unsafe sex.
The Katuna resource center, like many others dotted along the transport corridor, offers training and education to truckers and sex workers, and provides reading materials like pocket guides explaining sexually transmitted infections and the dangers of letting them go untreated. More than 150,000 truck drivers and community members have received prevention services, care and support information through one-on-one or community group outreach. The Center also provides free testing for truck drivers, already more than 5,000 of them to date.
As we continued along into Kampala, you can’t help but immediately feel the pulse and energy of the bustling city. In fact, we love this country so much we have no doubt we’ll be back sometime in the future.
People here are also very laid back — We’ve even gone three days without a cup of coffee here and didn’t seem to mind.
You hear the words “Hakuna Matata” everywhere. Literally.
Internet services down nationwide all day? Hakuna Matata…
Flights cancelled? Hakuna Matata…
Two hours in wall-to-wall rush hours in Kampala? Hakuna Matata…
We spent a lot of time letting go and reversing any stereotypical American traveler latte-induced behavior…
Right after arriving, we visited the Mukono District, about an hour outside of Kampala, Uganda, where we met up with Edward Mukiibi and Roger Serunjogi, coordinators of the Developing Innovations in School Cultivation (DISC) project. Edward, 23, and Roger, 22 started the project in 2006 as a way to improve nutrition, environmental awareness, and food traditions and culture in Mukono by establishing school gardens at 15 preschool, day and boarding schools. And over the last year, DISC has received global attention for its work-DISC is now partly funded by Slow Food International.
They started with Sunrise School, a preschool taking care of children between the ages of 3 and 6. By teaching these kids early about growing, preparing, and eating food they hope to cultivate the next generation of farmers and eaters who can preserve Uganda’s culinary traditions. In addition to teaching the children about planting indigenous and traditional vegetables and fruit trees, DISC puts a big emphasis on food preparation and processing. “If a person doesn’t know how to cook or prepare food, they don’t know how to eat,” says Edward. The kids at Sunrise-and the other schools working with DISC-know how to grow, how to prepare, and how to eat food, as well as its nutritional content.
As a result, these students grow up with more respect-and excitement-about farming. At Sirapollo Kaggwass Secondary School, we met 19 year-old Mary Naku, who is learning farming skills from DISC. This was her school’s first year with the project and Mary has gained leadership and farming skills. “As youth we have learned to grow fruits and vegetables,” she says, “to support our lives.”
Thanks to DISC, students no longer see agriculture as an option of last resort, but rather as a way to make money, help their communities, and preserve biodiversity.
We were so impressed with project DISC and urge you to check out this opinion-editorial we wrote about them for the Des Moines Register.
With 1,000 words nearly coming to an end…
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that Uganda, like most of the countries in Africa, is full of contradictions.
While everyone we met in Uganda was friendly and helpful, going out of their way to assist us when we needed directions, a Wifi hotspot, or a place to find vegetarian food, the country also has some of the most restrictive laws against human rights on the continent. While we were there, the “Bahati Bill” was introduced in parliament. The Bahati called for life in prison — and in some case the death penalty — for people found “guilty” of homosexual activity.
As gay marriage laws are passed around the world, including most recently in Mexico City, it’s hard to believe that lawmakers would punish people for being gay or having HIV/AIDS. The Bahati bill also punishes anyone who fails to report a homosexual act committed by others with up to three years in jail, and a prison sentence of up to seven years for anyone who defends the rights of gays and lesbians.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, due to mounting pressure from governments such as the United States, across Europe, and in Canada, said that he opposes the measure, and would attempt to try and soften the bill. Yet, even the possibility that a watered-down version of the proposed law could be passed, is an alarming sign of a dangerous trend of prejudice all over Africa. In Blantyre, Malawi, for example, a gay couple was arrested a few months ago after having a traditional engagement ceremony. Homosexuality is punishable by 14 years in jail in Malawi.
Other things we want to quickly note
Where we stayed: overall, the Aponye Hotel in Kampala, Uganda is a very good budget option in the heart of the bustling city center. It is in walking distance from restaurants, markets, ATMs, the bus station and more. Approximately $35/night, the room was very simple, clean, with air-conditioning and hot showers, and Wifi in the lobby.
The veg options were great: We ate fresh avocado, a local staple called posho (or maize flower), matooke (or banana), rice, and cassava. Served with the meal was a dipping sauce made of ground nuts and tomatoes cooked in a covered box sauce pan. Most of the vegetarian food is served in Uganda is steamed — usually using banana leaves on the bottom.
A must do: Go whitewater rafting at the base of the Nile (just a short ride from Kampala). Don’t worry it’s safe and you will have a lot of fun.
Another must do: Go swimming in Lake Victoria — no need for a fancy hotel, most will let you on the property to swim and use their facilities for a nominal fee.
The overland bus company we recommend: Starways (and trust us — because we traveled on all of them)
Thank you for reading! If you enjoy our diary every day we invite you to get involved:
1. Comment on our daily posts — we check for comments everyday and want to have a regular ongoing discussion with you.
2. Receive regular updates–Join the weekly BorderJumpers newsletter by clicking here.
3. Help keep our research going—-If you know of any great projects or contacts in West Africa please connect us connect us by emailing, commenting or sending us a message on facebook.
According to Jan Nijhoff, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) “was born” as a result of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-the list of broad targets that the United Nations hopes developing nations will achieve by 2015. Nijhoff, who coordinates a project between Michigan State University and countries in eastern and southern Africa to promote regional trade, says CAADP was a response by COMESA (the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) to develop a program to “solve” the problems outlined in the MDGs.
The initiative is focused especially on MDG #1, the goal of halving both the number of people who earn less than a dollar a day and the number of hungry people worldwide by 2015.
CAADP works on four main pillars or programs: extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems; improving rural infrastructure and trade-related capacities for market access; increasing food supply, reducing hunger, and improving responses to food emergency crises; and improving agriculture research and technology dissemination and adoption.
But achieving these goals (and MDG #1) will require increasing agricultural growth across Africa by 6 percent per year, according to CAADP. To do that, African governments will need to spend 10 percent of their annual budgets on agricultural development-up from only around 5 percent currently.
The “beauty of the CAADP approach,” Nijhoff says, “is that it holds governments accountable” through agreements, or compacts, that they develop with COMESA. These compacts, which outline extensive government actions, can help countries achieve greater agricultural growth while also protecting the environment. Essentially, Nijhoff says, they are “game plans” that specify where a country needs to spend its resources, where donors and the private sector can play a role, and what policies need to be in place before an investment can happen. They can include actions like building more roads to reduce transport costs for farmers and other businesses.
COMESA has also launched a regional compact initiative with FANRPAN (which I’ll be writing about in future blogs) and other partners to identify interventions that are already common among member states, as well as activities that can have a regional impact.
By focusing on national and regional economic development, and by showing donors where to spend their money, both COMESA and CAADP hope to increase food security, improve livelihoods, and achieve the MDGs for millions of people in eastern and southern Africa. And although skeptics of the program claim that it’s “donor pushed,” Nijhoff says it should be viewed as “African led” because agriculture and trade ministers are working in collaboration with CAADP to develop policies.
What do you think?
Thank you for reading! If you enjoy our diary every day we invite you to get involved:
1.Comment on our daily posts—we check comments everyday and look forward to a regular ongoing discussion with you.
2. Consider donating—For a limited time only when you donate $36 dollars (tax deductible) to support the Worldwatch Institute to support our, we will mail you a signed copy of our flagship publication “State of the World 2011” when it comes out in January. To make sure you receive your copy of the book just be sure to enter the code “NTP2011” when you make your donation.
3. Receive weekly updates—Sign up for our “Nourishing the Planet” weekly newsletter at the blog by clicking here and receive regular blog and travel updates.
It’s hard to believe, but an estimated 2.6 billion people in the developing world—nearly a third of the global population—still lack access to basic sanitation services. This presents a significant hygiene risk, especially in densely populated urban areas and slums where contaminated drinking water can spread disease rapidly. Every year, some 1.5 million children die from diarrhea caused by poor sanitation and hygiene.
When we arrived by bus at the 
Now, thanks to the work of the Solidarity Center, a non-profit launched by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organziations (AFL-CIO) to empower workers around the world by helping them form unions, and Uganda’s Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (ATGWU), which has about 3,500 members in
Right after arriving, we visited the Mukono District, about an hour outside of Kampala, Uganda, where we met up with 
Other things we want to quickly note
According to Jan Nijhoff, the