Trip along the Congo River reveals artistic treasures from central Africa

Paris exhibition traces link between works of Bantu speakers spread along the banks of African waterway


A Kota reliquary figure from the Congo River, arts of central Africa exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly. Photograph: Vincent Everarts/EPA
On finally reaching the entrance to the Congo River exhibition, on the upper ground floor, we caught sight of masks that, even from a distance, looked amazing, and equally attractive statues. But we resisted the temptation and headed for a map, in the hope of grasping the ideas underpinning the show, which aims to be much more than just a selection of works from the Congo River basin.

Two arrows on the map show how the Bantu languages spread out from their place of origin in Nigeria from about 3,000BC. One arrow follows the Atlantic coast south, as far as the mouth of the Congo river, arriving there about 2,000 years later. This branch corresponds to the western Bantus. The other arrow heads east towards the great lakes, also reached in about 1,000BC, bending southwards then turning west to follow the Congo and its tributaries. The two branches rejoined in the area now covered by Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The two branches thus circumscribe a vast area, consisting of the river basin and a swath of equatorial forest. To plot the routes, linguists studied successive offshoots of the original Bantu language, identifying the links between the dialects that evolved through time and migration.

This preamble is necessary because François Neyt, who curated the exhibition (until 3 October), makes ample use of the data. He seeks out visible forms of continuity in the statues and masks, and in the religious concepts they reflect. Much as the language, there is unity in the art despite the distances. The subtitle of the exhibition is essential: Correspondence and Mutation of Form.

The show is divided into three parts. It looks first at a specific style of heart-shaped face thought to be common to several peoples – the Kwele, Vuvi and Lega – who also worked with wood or ivory, regardless of whether they were living on the shores of a river or in the depths of the forest.

The second section focuses on the reliquaries associated with specific ancestors fashioned by the Mbede or Fang peoples. Some are made of polished black wood, others are covered with pieces of brass. In some cases, the form is extremely simple, while others accumulate so many votive studs and adornments as to suggest some fantastic anatomy. What is essential in all of them is their magical force: they must contain a power or a spell.

The third part concentrates on the representation of women, the exaltation of their beauty and motherhood among the Punu, Luluwa and Kongo peoples. Here again, the centres of population are often far apart. This section is less convincing, as Neyt has stretched his point here.

The works themselves are splendid though, inventive and beautifully executed, leaving an overall impression of perfection. But different peoples place more emphasis on certain aspects than others. Fang designs are particularly simple, whereas the Songye figures are magnificently overdone.

When the presentation brings together several examples of a single type of object or figure (standing male figures with a closely trimmed beard from the Boyo-Bembe area, or the Kota's geometrical reliquaries) it is fascinating to see the persistence of a prototype and the variations from one workshop to the next. It is equally delightful to see how styles meet and combine, or how the statues and masks of a particular ethnic group are related, but without slavishly applying the same solutions in their representation of faces.

The exhibition feels inexhaustible. This is particularly the case for French-speaking visitors. Belgium having colonised and exploited the Congo, many of the finest pieces created in this region have found their way to collections there. They are represented here in large numbers, to demonstrate the ideas underpinning the show but also to show off the magnificence of what was once known as art nègre

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Will Chelsea Clinton Convert? Jews Wonder -- and Ponder the Implications

Impressing Will Chelsea Clinton Convert? Jews Wonder -- and Ponder the Implications


The survival of Judaism as a religion and the Jewish people as a community are eternal worries for Jews around the world, but rarely do those dual concerns come together as spectacularly as they will in the wedding later this month of former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and the scion of another Democratic clan, Marc Mezvinsky.

In many respects, the impending nuptials feature the same dramas so many families experience as the big day approaches: The father of the bride (that'd be former President Bill) is struggling to drop 15 pounds before the wedding; the mother of the bride (that'd be current Secretary of State Hillary) is fretting about the dress (Oscar de la Renta or Vera Wang?); and the bride is trying to figure out who to leave off a select guest list of 400 who will be invited to the July 31 celebration at the former Astor mansion in the upstate New York village of Rhinebeck.

Religion is an issue as well, as it often is: Chelsea, 30, is the daughter of a social justice Methodist (Hillary) and a Bible-quoting Southern Baptist (Bill), and Mezvinsky, 32, was raised in Conservative Judaism, a major Jewish movement that discourages intermarriage and forbids rabbis to officiate at -- or even attend -- interfaith weddings in which the non-Jewish spouse does not convert.

No details on how the couple will navigate these religious shoals have leaked out, just a few tantalizing hints -- such as Chelsea's attendance with Marc at Yom Kippur services last September at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the flagship institute for Conservative Judaism.

The silence surrounding the wedding's religious protocols has only increased speculation in the Jewish community about what the couple will do: Will a rabbi officiate at the ceremony? A minister? Or both -- or neither? And will the bride convert? Or the groom? Or neither? And what about the kids?

"As a rabbi, I would be delighted to see Chelsea convert," Rabbi David Wolpe, a Conservative Jew who leads Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, recently told The Daily Beast. "That would be my dream scenario."

(Wolpe once worked for Mezvinsky's father, Ed, who was a Democratic congressman from Iowa before he went to jail on a seven-year fraud sentence after getting caught up in a series of Nigerian e-mail scams. The groom's mother, Marjorie Margolies, was a freshman representative from Pennsylvania who lost her seat in 1994 in part because she was the tie-breaking vote that passed President Clinton's first budget. Through it all, the Mezvinsky-Margolies clan remained close to the Clintons -- and now they'll be in-laws.)

Wolpe's wish that Chelsea convert is a common, but not exclusive, sentiment among American Jews who are pondering the Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding.

In a lively discussion at the InterfaithFamily.com website, one commenter said that even if Chelsea does not convert, a rabbi should take part in the wedding "if the couple agrees to raise the children Jewish." Another, however, cautioned that "this cannot be a Jewish wedding -- a Jewish wedding is one where both people are Jewish, either by birth or by choice." And yet another commenter gave what is perhaps a more characteristic answer: "I believe that Chelsea and her fiancé should do whatever will make them happiest."

In real life, of course, questions about the role of religion often animate wedding planning, given that so many young people feel freed from old prohibitions against marrying outside the faith, if indeed they adhere to the religion of their parents or any religion at all.

Yet this being the Clintons, and the religion in question being Judaism, the interfaith angst is taking on a significance far beyond that of the usual family tsuris over such matters.

Would such a marriage -- if Chelsea does not convert or the children aren't raised Jewish -- point again to an eroding Jewish identity among younger people and an existential threat to the survival of Judaism itself? Or could this be good for the Jews? It is, after all, a kind of dynastic marriage that would further bond the Jewish people to an influential Clinton clan that is already known for its affinity for Israel. What could be so bad about that?

Plenty, given Jewish history.

"Intermarriage has been fraught for Jews for a variety of reasons, and continues to be," said Julie Wiener, a columnist at The Jewish Week who writes a monthly essay dedicated to the intermarriage question. "Traditionally there has been a huge taboo against it because Jews have always been a tiny minority, and particularly after the Holocaust they were even smaller."

Rabbis in the Orthodox and Conservative Jewish movements are barred from officiating at any interfaith wedding, and the Reform tradition -- the largest and most liberal Jewish denomination -- formally opposes participation in mixed-marriage weddings, though it does leave the decision up to each rabbi. Some rabbis will even preside at same-sex Jewish weddings but not at heterosexual interfaith nuptials.
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Barefoot Bandit arrested in the Bahamas

Enjoy Barefoot Bandit arrested in the Bahamas


Colton Harris-Moore, dubbed the Barefoot Bandit, was arrested before dawn on Eleuthera island. Photograph:AP
After two years on the run from the US authorities the suspected thief known as the Barefoot Bandit has finally been stopped in his tracks.

Colton Harris-Moore, 19, who was given his nickname after allegedly leaving shoeless prints at a series of crime scenes in the US, was arrested in the Bahamas. Police claim that he crash-landed in the archipelago a week ago after stealing an aeroplane in the US and making a 1,000-mile flight. They allege that since arriving in the Bahamas he has been implicated in at least seven burglaries on Abaco island.

Harris-Moore is suspected in the US of stealing cash in innumerable burglaries, and taking several cars and boats as well as at least five single-engine planes despite a lack of any formal flight training. His alleged exploits have resulted in a string of arrest warrants issued by local forces in the US as well as catapulting him to celebrity status. He has thousands of Facebook followers, a fan club selling "Run, Colton, Run" T-shirts and songs have been written about him.

Growing up just north of Seattle, Harris-Moore gained his first theft conviction at 12 and in 2007 was given a four-year sentence in juvenile detention. He escaped from an open window and went on the run after being moved to a halfway house.

The 1.96-metre (6ft 5in) tall teenager evaded US authorities, in part because of his constant movement and also because the only people seeking him were local police forces – a lack of any serious crimes meant the FBI had little interest in him.

He was arrested before dawn on the Bahamas' northern Eleuthera island, a police official said. Local officers picked up his trail in Eleuthera after recovering a 13-metre (43ft) power boat stolen from a marina on Great Abaco, 40 miles to the north, near to where Harris-Moore had allegedly ditched a single-engine plane stolen from Bloomington Indiana. Bahamas police had warned that the teenager should be considered armed and dangerous, but since escaping from the juvenile detention centre he has not carried out any violent acts.

Harris-Moore's mother, Pam Kohler, said last week that many of the allegations made against her son were false but that she was hoping he would eventually reach a country without an extradition agreement with the US. "I'm glad he's able to enjoy beautiful islands, but they extradite. It doesn't help matters at all," she said.
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

Israel rightly ended the Gaza blockade, though belatedly

Israel rightly ended the Gaza blockade, though belatedly

nd its three-year blockade of civilian goods entering the Gaza Strip is a welcome move. Sadly, it came about a year too late, and its timing and circumstances benefited the wrong parties. That’s because the Netanyahu government (in all fairness, like many of its predecessors) seems to do the right thing only under heavy pressure.

The move is welcome because the blockade was plainly counterproductive. The stated objectives of the blockade – which varied from time to time – were to oblige Hamas to moderate its policies or otherwise to weaken or depose that Islamist movement, and to force a prisoner exchange for Gilad Shalit on terms acceptable to Israel. Had the blockade achieved any of these objectives, it might have been defensible to impose collective punishment on 1.5 million Gazans. Instead, Hamas grew stronger, while the more moderate Gazan business and agrarian sectors that depend on trade with and via Israel grew weaker. Shalit is still a prisoner of Hamas. The failure of the blockade was obvious at least a year ago. Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly allowed that he recognized the counterproductive nature of the economic warfare waged against Gaza soon after taking office.

The Netanyahu government did not invent this strategy, but rather inherited it from the Olmert government which in turn inherited a partial and occasional blockade from the Sharon government. Sharon’s initial reliance on economic warfare against Gaza is instructive: upon carrying out Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the territory in the summer of 2005, Sharon threatened far-reaching military measures if, following withdrawal, Qassam rocket attacks against Israeli civilian targets continued. When, within weeks of the withdrawal, the attacks were renewed, Sharon, followed soon by Olmert, responded not with massive military force but with economic warfare, including the dismantling of the entire economic incentive structure put in place by the international community to take advantage of the withdrawal.

But Sharon’s economic punishment did not stop the Qassams. Consequently, Israel’s deterrent image was badly damaged. Hamas escalated its attacks until Israel finally did respond with overwhelming force in late 2008 and early 2009. In this sense, the past five years of dealing with Hamas in Gaza have been illustrative of the difficulty Israel has in finding strategies to deal with a militant Islamist non-state neighbor that rejects Israel’s existence, would welcome an Israeli invasion and is prepared for its population to be martyred.

Israel did not embark alone on the blockade. Three years ago, when Hamas took over Gaza in a violent coup against Fatah, the decision to punish the territory until Hamas agreed to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept the Oslo framework was made collectively by the Olmert government together with the Quartet, Egypt and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. With the passage of time, and as the counterproductive nature of the blockade became increasingly obvious, Israel’s partners publicly took their distance, though privately some continued to encourage Israel to continue.



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Under Fire, The Fight Heats Up In Afghanistan

We are watches this Under Fire, The Fight Heats Up In Afghanistan

NPR photographer David Gilkey has embedded with the 101st Airborne Division outside of Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan. The mission for American soldiers in this region is to cooperate with the Afghan national army to secure the area — pushing out the Taliban and empowering locals to protect themselves. But that's easier said than done. Gilkey phoned in to discuss the situation on Morning Edition.




On a recent patrol, the 101st came under heavy fire and engaged in a 4-hour battle with Taliban insurgents. There were no casualties, but exhaustion has settled in. Army officials have said that the key to winning the war is winning the trust of locals. But until American forces can rid the region of the Taliban — which would allow the military to move freely and alleviate fear among Afghan civilians — face time with those locals will remain limited

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Census aims to (finally) move into the future

We are know treatment the Census aims to (finally) move into the future

Terry Stamm doesn't mind filling out a Census form every 10 years, but he does take issue with a couple of things.
One, the quaint methods the government still uses (snail mail, pen and paper, door-to-door visits). Two, the skyrocketing cost ($14.7 billion for the 2010 Census).

"There's got to be a better way," says Stamm, 54, a small business owner in Overland Park, Kan. "We just need to find a more efficient way to do it. Spending billions of dollars is ridiculous."

The sentiment is shared by many.

As hundreds of thousands of workers knock on doors this summer to collect information for the 2010 Census, momentum is mounting to drag future Censuses into the 21st century.

This year's Census may be the last to be filled out completely by hand and conducted primarily through mailings and home visits.

Almost certain for 2020: many people logging onto a secured Census website and filling out the form with a few keystrokes instead of pen, paper and a pre-addressed envelope.

"Using the Postal Service was an enormous innovation in 1970" when Census forms were first mailed (previous Censuses were door-to-door surveys), says Margo Anderson, a professor of history and urban studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an expert on Census history. "We're 40 years later, and the mail isn't the official way most people get their information or communicate. It's really outmoded."

Census Bureau Director Robert Groves agrees.

"We need to be serious about saving money," says Groves, who oversees a Census that will cost almost $50 a person when it's done — 66% more than the 2000 Census "The easiest way to do that is reduce the number of people involved in the collection of data."

The cost of the Census has mushroomed for several reasons.

FULL COVERAGE: Keeping tabs on the nationwide count

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Queen Elizabeth addresses UN

We know the Queen Elizabeth addresses UN

QUEEN Elizabeth II, on a whirlwind visit to New York City, addressed the UN General Assembly today for the first time in 53 years and called on its members to work together “if we are truly to be united nations".

Later, the monarch was to visit Ground Zero as well as the nearby British Garden at Hanover Square honouring the 67 British citizens killed in the September 11 attacks. She and her husband, Prince Philip, were to fly back to London today, concluding a nine-day trip to Canada and a five-hour stop in Manhattan.

The monarch, wearing a patterned blue and white suit and matching hat, arrived at the UN mid-afternoon local time.

The last time she spoke there was 1957, when she was 31 and on her first trip to Manhattan - a visit that included such typical tourist spots as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. Since then, she has been back only one other time, in 1976 during the US bicentennial celebrations.



As the city sweltered in nearly 37C temperatures, the Queen stepped to the marble podium of the UN General Assembly and delivered a 10-minute address to representatives of the 192 member nations, reflecting on the body’s past history and achievements but also noting “so much remains to be done”.

When people look back in another 53 years, she said, they may consider today’s leadership and efforts “old fashioned”.

But, she added, “my hope is our sincerity, willingness to take the lead and determination to do the right thing will stand the test of time”.

In tomorrow’s world, she said, “we must all work together as hard as ever if we are truly to be united nations".

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Locking horns over the running of the bulls

We are enjoy Locking horns over the running of the bulls

CCNN) -- A 400-year-old tradition is facing some new challenges this year at this week's annual running of the bulls in Spain.
Celebrations for the festival in San Fermin are already underway, but the first running of the bulls will be held Wednesday in the northern town of Pamplona.
The city is once-again handing out 100,000 leaflets to local and foreign festival-goers explaining how to minimize the risk of accidents during the spectacle.
It's a warning and a reminder of the dangers and even death that can occur when hundreds of runners sprint alongside the half ton bulls and steers. Last year saw the first fatal goring in more a decade.
For the sixth year now, Pamplona has sprayed the entire 825 meter route with a special anti-slipping chemical to help avoid injury to the bulls and the red-and-white clad runners.
The run in Pamplona started 400 years ago and became popular worldwide after author Ernest Hemingway wrote about it in the 1920s in his book "The Sun Also Rises," also published under the title "Fiesta."
The event is held July 7-14. Six bulls and a pack of tame steers run from the corrals, through Pamplona's old town, to the bullring -- where the bulls will die later in the day in a bullfight.
Including the recent death, 14 people have been killed in the runs since 1924, when record-keeping began.
But while the narrow cobblestone streets of Pamplona are expected to be as packed as ever, the tradition of bullfights, or "corridas" is under pressure elsewhere.
The economic downturn is certainly taking its toll. With nearly one in five Spaniards out of a job there are fewer spectators in packing the rings.
And struggling towns are looking for ways to slash spending.
Some local governments are cutting the expensive spectacles to save money for basic services like schools and police salaries.
But there is also pressure brewing to change cultural attitudes about the tradition of bullfighting as well.
Just as most years, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other animal rights groups organized a rally Sunday featuring semi-nude protesters covered in red paint in Pamplona, but also have staged protests outside Spanish embassies around the world.
The tactics may be gaining some traction. A 2006 Gallup poll showed more than 70 percent of those surveyed said they have "no interest" in bullfighting, while 82 percent of those aged 15 to 24 held that same view.
And now the tradition has begun facing legal and political challenges.
The government in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia with its capital Barcelona is plans to put a ban on the practice to a vote, potentially making it the second region in Spain to outlaw bullfighting after the Canary Islands in the Atlantic did so in 1991.
While Pamplona embraces tradition, one thing you won't be seeing -- or hearing -- this year... the incessant buzz of the "vuvuzela!"
The government there has banned the sale of the plastic horns along the bull-run route, saying they would be dangerous and distracting to the animals.

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