Chevron Rally Big Success

On early Wednesday morning I participated in a rally in front of Chevron when it held its annual Shareholders' Meeting. A coalition of community groups, including my local favorite Justice in Nigeria Now, gathered in solidarity to pressure Chevron to clean up the messes they have made (and continue to make) everywhere they operate - from Richmond to Ecuador, Nigeria, the Phillipines and Burma. Chevron made an astounding 23 billion in profits last year (more than 18% over the previous year) while they contaminate the drinking water and destroy the ability of local villagers to feed themselves. Chevron is under a lot of pressure (not just from us) but for some reason they are so good at public relations that Americans have a hard time believing the harm they are doing to others. Even I could not believe they could be as harmful as they are! To learn more, read an alternative annual report called The True Cost of Chevron. Let's keep them out of the green energy economy, please.

If you want to get involved, let me know and I can connect you with the coalition or contact sarah@justiceinnigerianow.org.

The next Chevron related event is a debate on June 10 between Chevron CEO David O'Reilly and Sierra Club president Carl Pope.

First Film to See about Africa

Now, I have not seen every film made by Africans or films about Africa, but I have seen quite a few. Many of them, especially documentaries, may be factually correct, but they seem to subconsciously broadcast the message that Africa is full of problems, so many to overwhelm us outsiders.

Today I saw a film that offers a radically different perspective, and is, as of today, March 22, one of a few films I would recommend as an introduction to Africa.

Throw Down Your Heart is the story of American banjo player Bela Fleck's journey to the roots of the banjo...Africa (the banjo is believed to come from Gambia, to be precise). We are introduced to African life through song, dance and rhythm, and the other issues of life are a backdrop, but not the foreground. The blended music was amazing, and Bela Fleck's desire to have his banjo sounds fit into African sounds are a great departure from most Western visitors, who often have African sounds augment their own tunes (Peter Gabriel, I do love your music though!).

So go see it if you can. It will be in SF at the Little Roxie through March 26th (and in New York City April 26-30), and the music is available online.

PS. One amazing story about the banjo. There is a story in Gambia that the akonting, believed to be the predecessor to the banjo, was played in the woods at night. When people would go to listen the music, they would disappear, and become slaves. The first ships all of the slaves were dying, and it was only with the akonting on board that the slaves could survive the journey, and it helped them survive the struggle.

This photo shows how similar a Gambian akonting player is to an American mid-1800s banjo player.

New developments in Africa

I hope to create a running log of obscure and important issues in Africa. Here are a few items that stood out for me in the last week:

The Government of Gabon in January arrested five anti-corruption officials, and surprisingly, this action was condemned by the a Republican US Representative Ed Royce (CA) and Democratic Barney Frank. [I would give Ed a more resounding enthusiastic cheer but I just tried to thank him online and found only those in his district are allowed to email him, and no one answered his phone number.] One person arrested was the Gabon coordinator of an anti-corruption project called Publish What You Pay, which is a site that urges leaders in developing countries to publish the pay of their leadership. This effort was a project of Transparency International, a corruption measurement group I discovered when I decided to work in Cambodia. Cambodia, sadly, is one of the most corrupt governments in the world, which in practical terms I discovered means that money is required (not necessarily bribes, but some direct financial contribution) to do anything with the government. It is great to hear people are working hard under difficult circumstances, and I hope they are released unharmed.

Madagascar: For those of us who have been involved in the food movement domestically and internationally, it may shock you to learn the Madagascar government has leased at $12/acre half of the arable land in Madagascar to a Korean company Daewoo for the growth of corn and palm oil. I learned of the situation from one of my new favorite bloggers: Ethan Zuckerman. A colleague told me he avoids Ethan because he is way too smart. Ethan helped start another of my favorite sites (in theory, I visit it rarely): Global Voices - a site that "aggregates, curates and ampifies the global conversation online."
Photo: Amazing baobob trees in Madagascar.

Avaaz.org - email alerts I actually like to send

Like many of you, I get tons of emails requesting me to send a message to an important figure about some very important issue. Everything is really important. But somehow Avaaz does this simple task better than most. They are a coalition of global voices, so I feel part of the global community whenever I send my message, and their campaigns always seem thoughtful and targeted. Today I wrote to Clinton about the crisis in Sri Lanka, an issue that really has not been on my radar screen. I am not likely to engage that heavily on this issue, but I am glad to spend a few minutes every week or so to let the global leadership know the global community is holding them accountable. And they do more than just accumulate letters..they put out ads and large media campaigns to get the public's attention.

4 Barrels would be perfect if...

it played mellow (not headbanger!) music and had more than 2 items on the menu! I am sitting at 4 Barrel Coffee, the new coffee roaster/seller that just opened on Valencia in the Mission between 14th and 15th, just blocks from our abode. I have been peaking in the window for days (including after the Greek crab feed) and my mouth was salivating at the site of cool old wood long bars and a big warehouse space. The space is beautiful, but it is not an optimal workspace (which is why I am writing this blog instead of working right now!) My soy milk is super-delish (not Silk!) and only $1. Luckily, the view of the amazing coffee roaster (pictured) is mesmorizing me so much I think I will never leave. Filled with hipsters with an edge, I think they were going for the days when this neighborhood was really rough, and wanting to put San Fran on the map with more than one hip roaster (that is, more than Blue Bottle) roaster. Ugh! The thrasher music starts again...

ps. here's more of a review of their coffee for those who go to cafes to drink coffee.

I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO!

As a new arrivee in the City (migrating from Palo Alto), I wanted to chronicle all of the amazing discoveries and experiences I/we are having, and thus this blog. It has only been 3 weeks, but literally every day brings a new adventure. I feel like San Francisco is breathing new life into me. I am already wearing leopard spotted leggings and being a bit more outrageous than I was in Palo Alto.

I am working on getting back in shape after having fallen off the wagon in my Southeast Asia hopping NGO job a little over a year ago. Today I took a Zumba class at 24 hour fitness just around the corner from me. It was rocking. Samba, merengue, salsa, shake your booty and work up a sweat too. But of course the funny twist, that made the experience quintessentially San Francisco, is when after the class I went into the bathroom and the person passing me said "excusez moi." No one in Palo Alto would deign to use a French phrase, but here it seemed apropos.

I have already found a little natural food store that wants my ideas on products to carry. My top two lately, for those who have been around me, are Zambian honey and Cambodian pepper. Zambian honey is dear to my heart not only because I have connected beekeepers in Zambia, but it is super-delicioso. Medicinal, earthy flavor that brings the African forests to life on your palette, unlike any other honey I have ever tasted and just what you need if you are ever under the weather. It has a slight smokey flavor because they smoke the bees out of the nest. You can find it at my alma mater Country Sun and some Whole Foods. Cambodian pepper is a subject about which I could write a book. For now, check out my blog post from Cambodia.