A Running Diary of Thought

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Who's become the latest star fighting against landmines, protecting refugees, and saving the environment? Angelina Jolie?

posted at 2:02 PM |

 

E-mail Scam, Day 1

Today, the skeptic has received his first African e-mail scam. He joins AfricaPundit in receiving this only after starting his blog.

There are many resources on the Internet about this matter, and the skeptic doesn't care to note them except to say that many people fall for them.

So, in retalliation, the skeptic will engage in absurd dialogue with the author, and allow readers to offer suggestions for possible directions the conversation can go. Below are both the letter (edited for clarity) and the skeptic's response.

From : "KENNETH MOBUTU SESE SEKO."

To : the_skeptic@hotmail.com
Subject : A CRY FOR HELP.
Date : Tue, 1, Apr 2003 22:53:18 +
DEAR FRIEND,

THROUGH THE COURTESY OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, I TAKE LIBERTY ANCHORED ON A STRONG DESIRE TO SOLICIT YOUR ASSISTANCE ON THIS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL AND RISKFREE TRANSACTION WHICH I HOPE YOU WILL GIVE YOUR URGENT ATTENTION.

I AM MR.KENNETH MOBUTU SESE-SEKO,SON OF LATE PRESIDENT MOBUTU SESE-SEKO OF ZAIRE NOW KNOWN AS DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO(DRC). I AM MOVED TO WRITE YOU THIS LETTER ,THIS WAS IN CONFIDENCE CONSIDERING OUR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCE AND SITUATION.

I ESCAPED WITH MY FATHER AND MOTHER ALONG WITH TWO OF MY BROTHERS BENSON AND BASHER OUT OF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO(DRC)TO ABIDJAN, COTE D'IVOIRE WHERE MY FAMILY AND I SETTLED, WHILE WE LATER MOVED TO SETTLE IN MORROCO WHERE MY FATHER LATER DIED OF CANCER DISEASE.SINCE THE DEATH OF MY LATE FATHER SOME YEARS AGO WE HAVE BEEN RESIDING IN GHANA ON TEMPORARY POLITICAL ASYLUM.

HOWEVER DUE TO THIS SITUATION WE DECIDED TO CHANGE MOST OF MY FATHERS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS DEPOSITED IN SWISS BANK AND OTHER COUNTRIES INTO OTHER FORMS OF MONEY CODED FOR SAFE PURPOSE BECAUSE THE NEW HEAD OF STATES(DR.)MR.LAURENT KABILA MADE ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE SWISS GOVERNMENT AND OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TO FREEZE ALL MY LATE FATHERS TREASURES DEPOSITED IN SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRIES,HENCE MY MOTHER,MRS.MARY SESE-SEKO AND I ALONG WITH MY BROTHERS BENSON AND BASHER DECIDED LAYING LOW IN AFRICA TO STUDY THE SITUATION TILL WHEN THINGS GETS BETTER,SINCE PRESIDENT KABILA IS DEAD AND THE SON TAKING OVER GOVERNMENT(JOSEPH KABILA).


ONE OF MY FATHERS CHATEAU IN SOUTHERN FRANCE WAS CONFISCATED BY THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT,AND AS SUCH WE HAD TO CHANGE OUR IDENTITY SO THAT OUR INVESTMENT WILL NOT BE TRACED AND CONFISCATED.MY MOTHER HAVE DEPOSITED THE SUM OF THIRTY MILLION,FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS(US$30,500,000)WITH A SECURITY COMPANY FOR SAFEKEEPING.

THE FUNDS ARE SECURITY CODED TO PREVENT THEM FROM KNOWING THE CONTENTS. WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO NOW IS TO INDICATE YOUR INTEREST THAT YOU WILL ASSIST US BY RECEIVING THE MONEY ON OUR BEHALF. THE ACCOUNT REQUIRED FOR THIS PROJECT CAN EITHER BE PERSONAL,COMPANY OR AN OFFSHORE ACCOUNT THAT YOU HAVE TOTAL CONTROL OVER,YOUR AREA OF SPECIALISATION WILL NOT BE A HINDERANCE TO THE SUCCESSFUL EXECUTION OF THIS TRANSACTION.

ACKOWLEDGE THIS MESSAGE,SO THAT I CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO MY FAMILY AS OUR FOREIGN TRUSTED PARTNER WHO SHALL TAKE CHARGE OF OUR INVESTMENT ABROAD WHERE WE NOW PLAN TO SETTLE. I WANT YOU TO ASSIST US IN INVESTING THIS MONEY,BUT I WILL NOT WANT OUR IDENTITY REVEALED.I WILL ALSO WANT TO BUY PROPERTIES AND STOCKS IN MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANIES AND TO ENGAGE IN OTHER SAFE AND NON SPECULATIVE INVESTMENTS. SAFE AND NON SPECULATIVE INVESTMENTS.

WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF HEALTH AND SPIRITUAL TURMOIL,HENCE WILL NEED YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND ASSISTANCE.MAY I AT THIS POINT EMPHASIZE THE HIGH LEVEL OF CONFIDENTIALLITY WHICH THIS BUSINESS DEMANDS AND HOPE YOU WILL NOT BETRAY THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE WHICH WE REPOSE IN YOU.I SHALL PUT YOU IN THE PICTURE OF THIS BUSINESS,I.E TELL YOU WHERE THE FUNDS ARE CURRENTLY BEING MAINTAINED AND ALSO DISCUSS OTHER MODALITIES INCLUDING REMUNERATION FOR YOUR SERVICES.

IS THIS PROPOSITION ATTAINABLE?IF IT IS,PLEASE KINDLY FURNISH ME IMMEDIATELY BY E-MAIL WITH YOUR DIRECT TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS TO ENHANCE THE CONFIDENTIALLITY WHICH THIS BUSINESS DEMANDS.

BEST REGARDS
MR.KENNETH MOBUTU SESE SEKO.
FOR FAMILY.

And the skeptic's response:

From : "the skeptic"

To : KENNETH MOBUTU SESE SEKO
Subject : Re: A CRY FOR HELP.
Date : Thu, 10 Apr 2003 18:33:40 -0500




Dear Mr. Kenneth Mobutu Sese Seko,
I want to thank you for your kind invitation. I should admit, upfront, that I am no admirer of your father. His reign was ruthless and brutal; the systematic oppression of his people is unforgivable. I was under the impression that he had been killed, and was sorry to hear that he did not die a more painful death. That said, I do not believe that I should hold the son accountable for the sins of his father.

I am surprised that you have adopted an English first name. Certainly your father must have bristled at the suggestion, considering his drive to ridding the Congo of any semblance of colonial influence (hence changing the name of the country to "Zaire"). But I guess that's a consequence of being on the lamb (an American expression for fleeing from your captors).

I am glad that you have been forthcoming with me about your real name. It shows how much trust you have placed in me. And I thank you for that.

I am also glad to hear that you left the Cote d'Ivoire prior to the civil war that broke out there this past fall. You certainly are lucky to have received political asylum in Ghana. Congratulations!

Regarding your prospective investments, please consider my humble advice. While the property market tends to be hot, I would encourage you to rethink heavily investing in multinational companies. World economic growth is quite slow, and doesn't show any signs of picking up. The stock market has been stagnant for a long time. If you do invest, be sure to stay in for the long-term.

I don't quite understand the complex details of how you plan on moving the money, but I will entrust that to you! I understand that you want to route $30.5 million through my personal account. Wow!

I don't understand how it is that you acquired "a strong desire to solicit" my assistance "on this mutually beneficial and riskfree transaction." Of course, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth (an American expression to say that I am not ungrateful). I just want to know who I can contact so that they too will share in the splendor that I am eagerly awaiting.

But before I jump in over my head, what kind of "remuneration" were you thinking? Not to sound greedy, but I'd like to know what's in it for me. Also, please let me know where you will be maintaining the funds--that way, just in case something happens to you, our business deal is not forever lost.

And I can't wait to meet your family! You must have some great stories!

Kindly,

Seth Picket

The signed name is an anagram of the skeptic, who will keep you posted as developments on this important case arise.

posted at 6:36 PM |

 

Africa's Deadliest War

The deadliest conflict since World War II has now claimed around 3.3 million lives. Yet Africa's great tragedy has gone largely unnoticed in the American mainstream.

Of course, the Second Gulf War prevades the news today. In recent years, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has received a lot of attention.

But the numbers of dead pale in comparison to those that result from the four-and-a-half year war in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo. Every month, "an estimated 30,000 excess deaths have occurred."

Of those 3.3 million deaths, only ten percent are violent deaths. Statistics like this account for the rest: "In three of the ten health zones [International Rescue Committee (IRC)] teams visited in the east, more than half the children were dead before the age of two."

And perhaps that's the real tragedy: nearly 85 percent of those deaths are preventable. They result from "easily treatable diseases and malnutrition, linked to displacement and the collpase of much of the country's health system and economy."

The BBC summarizes the IRC's new report and adds context about last week's slaughter and peace treaty signing.

For the comprehensive report check out the IRC's report.

In other news, the Security Council condemned last week's attack and called for an immediate end to the conflict. Dr. François Grignon, director of the Central Africa Project at the International Crisis Group, explains what role he thinks the international community, and specifically the U.S., should play.

Among other proposals, he advocates giving the UN mission a peacekeeping mandate and funds for the "disarmament/resettlement process." But will Kofi Annan accede to letting peacekeepers go to a truly dangerous area? Or, will he do a Rwanda-redux and wait until the situation becomes more stable?

posted at 3:12 PM |

 
Notable: The English Al-Jazeera site is finally up.... And it doesn't seems so radical. the skeptic hasn't seen this report anywhere. And this one suggests the hold on Iraq isn't as strong as we are led to believe. Here's an interesting article questioning the difference between U.S. special forces in civilian clothing. And finally, an article questioning whether Christian evangelists are eyeing up Iraq.

Wonder how long this stays up...

posted at 8:45 PM |

 

Chalabi Watch, Day 5

Wolfowitz on the Future of Iraq, Syria, Woolsey

the skeptic is excited to report more bad news for Chalabi, that long-time exile, short-term opportunist. (here are the first, second and third posts)

"But White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice has insisted that any authority include Iraqis living in the country, as well as prominent exiles.

"Rice's stance could end an internal dispute over the make-up of the new Iraqi authority, which may be installed even before Saddam's government is toppled."

Beyond that, Wolfowitz announced that he has now come around to agree with the the skeptic. His talk on Meet the Press was very informative (a Web transcript should be up soon; the following is from Lexis-Nexis):

Dr. WOLFOWITZ: What we're trying to accomplish in the post-Saddam era--and we're thinking about that already--is to balance two things. On the one hand, there's got to be an effective administration from day one. People need water and food and medicine, and the sewers have to work, the electricity has to work. And that's a coalition responsibility. We have to make sure it gets done. But our goal is to have a legitimate Iraqi government that represents the Iraqi people. And this interim authority, which we've discussed and we agreed upon in our government and with our coalition partners and with important elements of the Iraqi opposition, is a bridge to that legitimate government. But the goal is not to install some particular group as the new leaders of Iraq. That absolutely contradicts the whole notion of democracy. ... Our goal is a democratic goal, and that requires the Iraqis being free to speak--millions of them are not yet--and forming an agreement on the method by which they'll pick their leaders.

MR. RUSSERT: So Mr. Chalabi would not be the leader of the new Iraq?

DR. WOLFOWITZ: I can't say. That's for Iraqis to decide. ....

MR. RUSSERT: Are you concerned that if the Iraqis, in fact, do develop a democracy that it could be controlled by the Shia, the dominate sect of Islam in Iraq, which is also the dominant sect in Iran, and we could very well have a democratically elected fundamentalist Islamic country. We saw in Turkey, a modern democratic state, which, in fact, blocked the United States from conducting military missions in the north. Are you concerned that we may be creating something we may regret?

DR. WOLFOWITZ: Tim, democracies are democracies and they have their own judgments. We supported a democratic transition in the Philippines, and that democratic government then kicked us out of the bases in the Philippines. It was still a good thing to have that democratic transition. We're much healthier. We're much better off with a healthy democratic government in that country. We've had our differences with Turkey, but I'm glad that Turkey is a democracy. I think we're going to work out those differences. And certainly people shouldn't conjure up the notion that the Shia of Iraq are like the horrible Ayatollahs that brutalized the Iranian people. Iraq, I believe, has one of the most educated populations in the Arab world. There are many talented Iraqis in this country and in England and elsewhere who want to go back to help build a new kind of country, and I think Iraq can be an inspiration to the Muslim world and the Arab world, that Arabs and Muslims can create a democratic country and that will be positive. ....

On the Transitional Government

DR. WOLFOWITZ: But it's going to include people from the State Department, from Defense Department, from coalition partners. And what we want to make sure is that Jay Garner and the people who work for him have the money they need on a flexible basis to operate quickly. ... But bear in mind: This is the part of the administration that's focused on getting things functioning and running. It is not the ultimate government of Iraq. That has to be the choice of the Iraqi people. ...

Woolsey

MR. RUSSERT: Let me refer to you some comments made by former CIA director James Woolsey the other day which raised some eyebrows, and I'll put them on the screen: "Former CIA director James Woolsey told students in Los Angeles the United States is now engaged in 'World war IV.' Woolsey described the Cold War as the third world war and said 'this fourth world war' would last for some time. He said the new war is actually against three enemies: the religious rulers of Iran, the 'fascists' of Iraq and Syria, and Islamic extremists like Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network."

You concur with that?

DR. WOLFOWITZ: I think it's too much of an emphasis on all the people we're against. The truth of the matter is I think one of our real goals here has to be to convince the world's billion Muslims that we stand for positive change in the Muslim world, that we are on the side of Muslims who are fighting for democracy, for freedom, for a better future for their people. I was the American ambassador in Egypt for three years. That's actually the largest Muslim population of any country in the world. They have a struggling effort to build a new democracy. We need to be out supporting our friends. That's as important as any focus on enemy.

MR. RUSSERT: Is Mr. Woolsey being considered for a position in Iraq?

DR. WOLFOWITZ: First of all, positions in Iraq belong to the Iraqis. If you mean positions within this provisional administration, we're looking at a wide range of Americans both inside and outside government.

MR. RUSSERT: Including him?

DR. WOLFOWITZ: Anybody who's willing to serve as a candidate.

the skeptic would like to throw his name in the hat....

N. Korea, Syria, etc.

MR. RUSSERT: But the irony that we went in to disarm Saddam Hussein, and now the North Koreans are saying, "We're going to keep our nuclear bombs because you'll invade us if we don't."

DR. WOLFOWITZ: Well, they've obviously stood logic on its head once again. I mean, it's clear that if Saddam Hussein had accepted the conditions--had lived up to the conditions that he accepted 12 years ago, he wouldn't be at war now. ...

That's not so clear to the skeptic....

MR. RUSSERT: How about Syria, who is sending night goggles to the Iraqi fighters?

DR. WOLFOWITZ: They're doing some things they shouldn't be doing, and the sooner they stop, the better it will be for them.

MR. RUSSERT: How do we stop them?

DR. WOLFOWITZ: Right now we're focused on winning the war. I think the Syrians need to know, though, that what they do now will be held accountable for.

MR. RUSSERT: Meaning?

DR. WOLFOWITZ: Meaning that it's going to be more difficult for them to have the kind of relationships they're going to need to have in the aftermath. And there's got to be change in Syria, as well. But, I think a lot of countries, including Syria, will eventually get the message from this, that it's much better to come to terms peacefully with the international community, to not acquire these weapons of mass destruction, to not use terrorism as an instrument of national policy, and to take care of your own people. (skeptic's emphasis throughout)

That lines up pretty well with what David Sanger's must-read article writes in today's NYT.

P.S. 60 Minutes has an article all about Chalabi. Sadly, it happens to be as confused about everything as the skeptic does... Let's hope Wolfowitz is on target, and Chalabi is not... Except for this Chalabi quote: "I'm not a candidate for any position in Iraq, and I don't seek an office. I think my role ends with the liberation of the country."

posted at 1:32 PM |

 
Notable: This is, the skeptic thinks, the best summary of Africa's response to the war with Iraq.

posted at 1:23 PM |