protests

Four years in and counting.

Over the last few days, anti-war actions are taking place all over America (and all over the world) in acknowledgment of the fourth anniversary of the Bush administration's launching an illegal, immoral war of conquest in Iraq.

We-the-People seem to be rising up everywhere and demanding that our badly misused troops be brought home safely and that the neokonzertruppen's disastrous military adventure for profit in the Middle East be stopped NOW.

Sure, there were large and widely-publicized protest gatherings on the Mall in Washington on Saturday. Aren't there always? That's certainly the primary place for activists to see and be seen, donchaknow. But on Saturday and Sunday, and still today, there are also plenty of equally impassioned anti-war rallies being held in lots of other places outside the Beltway.

And not just in big fancy places like New York City and San Francisco and Seattle, either. But also -- and, arguably, much more significantly -- out in the hinterlands, in flyover country where people don't generally make that much noise about this sort of thing unless some sort of major sea change is taking place.

Bush travels to Latin America and is greeted by this: (from BBC News)

In Brazil, more than 10,000 protesters (according to BBC news) turned out in the capital of Sao Paulo to protest the arrival of America's appointed President, Georgoe Bush. I wonder if our good friend, Francis Holland, is participating :-)

This is a time when world opinion is solidly against America. This is dramatically show by a recent poll that showed that people view America as marginally MORE destabilizing a force than North Korea and only slightly less destabilizing than Iran. To the world, America is part of the Axis of Evil.

This is played out in Latin America as well. In Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, strongly anti-American, socialist presidents have been elected by democratic vote and are extremely popular. Throughout Latin America, including in Brazil, Peru and Chile, leftist governments have been voted into office. In Nicaragua Daniel Ortega, the boogie man of the Reagan era, has been elected President.

We are not popular in the world, not even in our own backyard. Brazil President Lula's own party is protesting Bush's arrival!

I have been working to expand the focus of Culture Kitchen to include more international issues. I am hoping to have some bloggers from African nations on board soon, if all goes well. In the meantime, a friend sent me the following story. At first it may seem inconsequential to Americans that the nation of Guinea is on the verge of chaos, but when it is realized that Guinea has been seen as a stabilizing force amid the horrors of Liberal and Sierra Leone, this development is disturbing.

A new flashpoint is emerging in Africa. Here is BBC News' description of the African nation of Guinea:

Ruled by strong-arm leaders since independence, Guinea has been seen as a bulwark against instability in neighbouring Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. However it has also been implicated in the conflicts that have ravaged the region.

That "bulwark against instability" seems to be tottering dangerously. A general strike, now in its second week, and unrest, opposed by some violent attacks from the military is spreading through the capital as opposition forces call for the resignation of the nation's strongman leader.

You can read one man's description of the unrest here.

First some background. According to the CIA factbook: