Help Yourself. Help The World. Then Brag About How You’re A Wonderful Person.

Last Monday, I received a pre-approved Credit Card offer, 2 offers for magazine subscriptions, a letter from my health insurer, and a ransom letter written in lamb’s blood.  But it was a good day because I didn’t get anything from Pottery Barn – the Devil’s home-furnishing store.  I’ve never even been to the Pottery Barn! Still, I wasn’t satisfied.

Today, Gratuitous World stops spewing nonsense and stealing your soul for a couple minutes, to give you some helpful advice on how to remove yourself from mailing lists and junk mail.

Here’s some plagarism:

• Junk mail destroys 100 million trees a year — the equivalent of deforesting all of Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.
• Largely due to deforestation, junk mail manufacturing creates as much greenhouse gas emissions annually as 3.7 million cars.
• More than half of unsolicited mail is discarded unread or unopened; the response rate is less than 2%.
• Junk mail creates four million tons of unnecessary waste per year.
• Calculating the weight of the junk mail trash from EPA data, it works out to 13.4% of 1276 pounds per household; that’s 170 pounds of trash per household per year.
• Don’t just think about the waste that junk mail produces; consider the energy required to produce the mail, and the emissions required to transport it to your home. And even if it gets recycled in the end, a great deal of energy is expended in the recycling process.

Credit Card Applications

Getting bent over by the credit card companies isn’t difficult.  But that doesn’t mean you have to read their love letters. Name and address are all that are necessary:

Opt-Out Pre-Screen will ensure no pre-approved applications arrive in the mail. The online form is accepted without having to enter your Social Security Number. (Available to US residents only.) 

I did the on-line, 5-year opt-out. It took 2 minutes.

Virtually all credit card and insurance companies get your mailing and credit information from one of the three major national credit bureaus, who share their lists between one another. Pursuant to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (1997), consumers can call any one of the credit bureaus, and upon request can have their name removed from all three lists.

• Equifax : PO Box 740123, Atlanta, GA 30374-0123 – Phone: (888) 567-8688
• Experian: Target Marketing Services Division, 12606 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX 75243 – Phone: (800) 353-0809
• TransUnion: 555 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL 60661 – Phone: (800) 680-7293

Direct Marketing Association

The Direct Marketing Association is apparently responsible for 75% of all national mailings that come to your home.   By calling or writing them and requesting that you be added to their Do Not Mail List, your name won’t be on the many mail order sales companies that use the D.M.A. to generate mailing lists.

Valpak Coupons

Visit Cox Target Media to remove your name.  Unless you really want that $5 off a $100+ oil change.

Catalogs

Catalog Choice will remove you from many (if not most) catalog mailing lists. 

Cut the cord, kids.

 

CNN Doesn’t Think People Care? Are They Correct?

Imagine the outrage and indignation this story would cause:

At least 128 people were killed when Iranian troops opened fire on opposition protesters on Monday, rights groups and opposition figures claim.

Earlier police said 87 people had died, but local activists say hospital sources confirmed a much higher toll.

Human rights groups say they have had reports of soldiers bayoneting people and women being stripped and raped in the streets during the protest.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard head Yahya Rahim Safavi denied knowledge of sexual assaults.

But he admitted that some of his security forces had lost control.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said France was suspending economic ties with Iran after the “savage and bloody” crackdown on opposition protesters, the French news agency AFP reported.

About 50,000 people were protesting over the results of Iran’s 2009 presidential election. 

But soldiers moved in to quell the rally using tear gas and baton charges and firing live ammunition into the crowds.

The Iranian Organisation for Defence of Human Rights put the toll at 157 people killed and more than 1,200 wounded, although this has not been corroborated.

Human rights groups said there were widespread reports of rape.

“The military is going into districts, looting goods and raping women,”  the head of the Iranian branch of the Encounter for the Defence of Human Rights (EDDHO), told AFP.

An eyewitness told Human Rights Watch: “I saw several women stripped and then put inside the military trucks and taken away. I don’t know what happened to them.”

“They were raping women publicly,” an opposition activist  said in an interview with French radio station RFI, adding that he had witnessed soldiers raping women with rifle butts during Monday’s protests.

Iranian human rights activists told Reuters news agency that people trying to escape from the shooting were “caught and finished off with bayonets”.

A doctor at a government hospital in Tehran said his wards looked like “a butchery”.

American pundits and politicians would be outraged.  Calls for military involvement to protect the democratic process would surely be forthcoming.  

Unfortunately, this story is not fiction. It’s just not taking place in Iran, North Korea, or any of the number places deemed “of concern” to American interests.  It is happening in Guinea, and apparently CNN doesn’t think anyone gives a shit (and they may be right). 

On cnn.com, there is no article (even in the hard to find “Africa” section) and only a small video clip.  I’m not sure if the network covered it, but if they did I’m sure it’s sandwiched between a Polanski story and some bullshit about some fat lady who lost a lot of weight on an “all green onion” diet .

If anyone is watching CNN (or MSNBC/Fox), and thinks the media is treating this story with the appropriate coverage, please let me know.  My guess is it’s filed in the voluminous “African Indifference” archive.

Science Haters & Hollywood To Deprive U.S. Of Jennifer Connelly

Unreal.  Actually, not unreal. I believe it. You may say I’m a true believer. 

Creation, starring Paul Bettany, details Darwin’s “struggle between faith and reason” as he wrote On The Origin of Species. It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God following the death of his beloved 10-year-old daughter, Annie.

The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.

However, US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.

Movieguide.org, an influential site which reviews films from a Christian perspective, described Darwin as the father of eugenics and denounced him as “a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder”. His “half-baked theory” directly influenced Adolf Hitler and led to “atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering”, the site stated.

The film has sparked fierce debate on US Christian websites, with a typical comment dismissing evolution as “a silly theory with a serious lack of evidence to support it despite over a century of trying“.

Yes – that silly theory with incomparable genetic evidence. So unlike the totally realistic theory with the Invisble Bearded Man, the Magic Tree, and the Sassy Talking Snake.

What’s going on here? The Jesus Freaks have been out-to-lunch for years.  They can’t be blamed.  It’s possible no distributor thinks it will make any money.  Although 21st  Century Hollywood only produces spin-offs and sequels, I doubt this is the case.  If it gets enough publicity, it will eventually get released here.

This falls on the pathetic Hollywood ”liberals.”  No one wants to piss off the bored, letter-writing Creationists. They might miss out on a chance to distribute Home School Musical II.  Zing.

On the Origin of MY Species. Hey-o!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

America Loves Lists! – Top 5 Flags

Anyone lucky enough to be in my bedroom growing up knows I have an affinity for flags of the world (and collectible Wheaties Boxes).  Let’s list.

 5.  Sweden: Well-proportioned cross? Check. Color scheme? Blue like the water of the fjords and gold like the flowing locks of a young Swedish lady. Like Notre Dame and Penn State’s classic football uniforms, Sweden executes this classic combo to perfection.

4.   Libya:  Any country with balls enough to go straight monochrome deserves a little credit. I actually think they use the flag as a green-screen for whatever image Khadafi wants to represent the country on a daily basis:

O.K.:  I think today we should go with “hamster on a ladder.”

Random Libyan:  “Great choice, Sir!”

  

3. Zimbabwe:  It has been a rough few centuries for Zimbabwe.  This is less about the flag + more just encouraging the country to keep its chin up.  Stay positive, Zimbabwe!

 

 2.  Nepal: Nepal refuses to be hindered by conventional quadrilateral flag-making.  Nepal will not be tamed! It also has a symbol that looks like a porcupine in a hammock. Quite pleasant.

 

 

  1.  Macedonia:  If Orgasms had a national flag, I believe it would look something like this. Cheers to you, Macedonia! Albania can ”stick it!”

Putin The Magnificent

GW Readers, let me take you on a trip to the vast wonder that is Siberia.  You’re on the 3rd day of a hike with your Mongolian porter Naraanbatar.   Imagine you’ve developed a sleepwalking disorder and unwittingly leave your trusty Mongol in the middle of the night. You wake alone, the ground rising before you as the mountainous terrain gets steeper.  You start to freak the fuck out. After all, you have no water because you decided to fill your canteen with borscht.  But then you see it. On the horizon, a man approaches. Not just any man…

Look at that majestic animal. And he can ride a horse.

 

 

“Am I hallucinating powerful Russians?” you ask yourself.  Nope. That is really Putin. Shirtless. On A Horse.  For a staged photo-shoot.  Life-savingly weird.

 

Putin sees you and recognizes your calls for help.  He starts galloping in your direction.  Then all of a sudden he hops off the horse and jumps in a nearby lake, swimming with a purpose.  This is odd considering he’s swimming in the opposite direction.  But hey, that’s Putin, and the point is he’ll either save you or crush you.  Just don’t thank him because you might get an awkward stomach-kiss.

Show me "frolic!"

_______________

I refer you to poorluckyme for debate regarding the sexiest Euro leader.  I’ve always been a Berlusconi-man myself.  The reasons are obvious.

Somalia, Afterthought No Longer?

I posted this on another site on Januray 30, 2008, prior to the publicity regarding the piracy and whatnot, I thought I’d re-post it.

Somalia, The Afterthought

Per his usual empty rhetoric, the President once again paid lipservice to Darfur in his State Of The Union address:    

“America is opposing genocide in Sudan and supporting freedom in countries from Cuba and Zimbabwe to Belarus and Burma…”

Though the administration overflows with aggression and self-righteous imperialist tendancies, hollow verbal condemnations of rights abuses in places like Myanmar (it’ll always be Burma to George), Sudan, Zimbabwe, etc..is about all we’ve come to expect from Bush2.

As we’ve learned over the years of outside observance of ongoing Civil Wars, providing aid is great and necessary, but prolonging day-to-day survival of victims is only one aspect of preventing war, famine and disease.

Indeed, AU and UN peacekeepers have had relative success (I cringe to use this term) in Darfur lately, but another festering wound of tragic hardship lurks on the horn of East Africa.

Somalia has been engaged in Civil War for essentially 17 years. While there have been occasional lulls in internal strife since the “government” was installed, the country has once again deteriorated. Horrible droughts have exascerbated a situation on the verge of anarchy.

  
Over 1m Somalis are now thought to be dependent on humanitarian assistance, but only a fraction of the needy are being reached.

From Jeffrey Gettlemen in the NY Times:

Top United Nations officials who specialize in Somalia said the country had higher malnutrition rates, more current bloodshed and fewer aid workers than Darfur, which is often publicized as the world’s most pressing humanitarian crisis and has taken clear priority in terms of getting peacekeepers and aid money.

The relentless urban combat in Mogadishu, between an unpopular transitional government — installed partially with American help — and a determined Islamist insurgency, has driven waves of desperate people up the Afgooye road, where more than 70 camps of twigs and plastic have popped up seemingly overnight.

The people here are hungry, exposed, sick and dying. And the few aid organizations willing to brave a lawless, notoriously dangerous environment cannot keep up with their needs, like providing milk to the thousands of babies with fading heartbeats and bulging eyes. “Many of these kids are going to die,” said Eric Laroche, the head of United Nations humanitarian operations in Somalia. “We don’t have the capacity to reach them.”

So what is needed?

1. More Aid - This needs to be an international effort, not only more aid, but more aid workers (Easier said than done).  Aid has poured into Sudan, and it has helped some of the long suffering Sudanese people. Somalia receives much less aid, and it is increasingly hard to get aid to those who need it.  Obviously, the more content the people, the harder for the violent factions to gather steam.  International Governments have to support NGOs and aid organizations in attempts to reach those most in need.
2. Diplomatic Involvement – The US pretty much installed the current leadership.  Take an active stance. They need to lead properly, and end corruption. This is a cause other countries can get behind if we lead.  More diplomacy = less of #3. Encourage Ethiopia to act as peace-keepers as opposed to aggressors. Ethiopia is currently crucial to maintaining partial order, but for how long? However difficult, diplomatic resolution needs to include the coopertation of the civil Islamist Movement (not the ‘Insurgents’). Also,  removing the term “War on Terror,” as rationalization for any effort may benefit the US.
3. Troops? It’s sad to say, but until a stable government forms, maintaining a stable society will be near impossible without military presence. There are suicide bombers, assassinations, and pirates that target aid boats. The U.N. is stretched so thin in Africa with 9 operations, and the AU has minute resources.  Military experts reckoned that it would take at least 20,000 troops to impose order on central Somalia. The AU managed to get promises for 8,000. In fact, just 1,600 Ugandan troops have shown up.

Do we have enough daunting issues facing this country, from Iraq to health care, to affordable child care, etc…..? Absolutely.

However, this country has an opportunity to lead the world properly, partially repair its image, encourage democratic principles, and help the neediest people in the world. I won’t be holding my breath in ‘08.  But come 1-20-09, I hope our new leadership can look at these situations and ask “How can we help?” before they ask “What’s in it for us?”

I don’t really have any follow-up. Everything about the situation over there is saddening. Hopefully, the American ship captain gets home safely.  Hopefully, the Horn of Africa will see some stabilization.  I wouldn’t hold my breath on the latter. 

Roof Penis

According to the BBC, 

An 18-year-old has secretly painted a 60ft drawing of a phallus on the roof of his parents’ £1million mansion in Berkshire. It was there for a year before his parents found out. They say he’ll have to scrub it off when he gets back from travelling.

No word yet on whether the young man will have to trim the 1/2 acre, vagina-shaped garden he planted at the family’s Essex summer home.

I’ll see your banana daiquiri and raise you an asinine diplomat.

Though only runner-up for “Douchenozzle of the Week” (coming soon), Jorge Bolanos, Cuba’s chief diplomat to the U.S., while talking to the AP in advance of his address to the U.N., compared American trade sanctions to the most unspeakable acts of modern history.

Whined Bolanos, “It’s equivalent to genocide; its intention is strangulation,”

Bolanos is referring to the United States trade embargoes gradually initiated following the Cuban Revolution.  Of course, from Godfather II we know that prior to the Revolution, rich Americans often traveled to Cuba in order to build casinos, go to sex shows, and betray their younger, more talented brothers.

Personally, I believe U.S. policy towards Cuba needs a serious overhaul.  The travel restrictions are ridiculous.  Unnecessary trade sanctions create hardship in the region, limit possible markets for American companies, and foster dysfunctional relationships, both directly and indirectly. But that is neither here nor there. 

Bolanos continued:  “Eleven million Cubans live under the blockade’s effects,” he said. “Each day, each of them, child, woman, man, elder of whatever social position or religion, suffers without distinction, the perverse effects of the blockade.”

Furthermore,

He said a few sick Cuban children have been unable to receive proper medical treatment because the United States would not approve the export of catheters. Some material for the blind also is under boycott, and Cuba was unable to purchase washing machines from Mexico because they had parts manufactured in the United States, he said.

I am not insensitive to these people who are unable to receive necessary treatment.  However, millions of Americans can’t get proper medical treatment.  Maybe you can send us some cheap scrips’ and  I’m sure someone will gladly send some catheters, rubber gloves, and so on.  On the other hand, I am mildly insensitive to the Cubans who can’t wash black beans and plantains out of their overalls because of a lack of Mexican washing machines. 

Like the citizens of many countries on this planet, Cubans are poor.  However, despite occasional isolated uprisings, their country functions.  Medical care is available.  While some medical supplies may be sparse, I do not think they have to fight off the Sudanese mujahideen as supplies get air-dropped into the country.

My advice for Jorge (who went on to say, “it typifies an act of genocide”) would be to tone down the rhetoric before addressing the U.N., and maybe avoid eye-contact with the delegations from Armenia, Cambodia, Israel, Rwanda…etc.

Complete story here.

Omar’s Comin!

Hurricane Omar, that is. 

You come at the king, you best not miss.

Omar formed Tuesday in the eastern Caribbean and dumped heavy rain on the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao off the coast of Venezuela. At 11 p.m. ET, its center was about 315 miles (505 km) south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Like Michael K. Williams classic character from HBO’s The Wire, Hurricane Omar seems to be taking it relatively easy on the poor, marginalized, and innocent; so for once, most of Haiti should be fine.

However, as Caribbean inhabitants should know, tropical storms are “all in the game.” Get those windows boarded up and seek shelter because “it’s either play or get played.”

A strong tropical cyclone will harbor an area of sinking air at the center of circulation. If this area is strong enough, it can develop into an eye. Weather in the eye is normally calm and free of clouds, although the sea may be extremely violent...Indeed.

I’m no meteorologist – I didn’t have time for the 4-week course – but if I’m living on the Atlantic coast, I’m keeping one eye on this storm, wary that it might take a quick right turn.  Hear that B’more? 

The Candidates and Africa

Traditionally, Africa receives the attention of American media and politicians only mid- or  post- catastrophe. The last couple of years are certainly no exception. Considering recent activity in Somalia, I thought it a good time to examine a continent that will require an increasing amount of attention going forward. While there is no denying the destructive policies of the Bush Administration as a whole, some say Bush policies towards Africa have been a relative (and I can’t stress that word enough) success.

As I’m sure most would expect, the current candidates’ ties, interactions and policy proposals with respect to the continent are in sharp contrast.  Below is a breakdown, which for the sake of brevity, I will try to limit in scope.  

BACKGROUND

Senator Obama’s multi-national background is well-documented, as is his connection to the country of Kenya.  Like Germans and David Hasslehoff, and Wisconsinites and cheese, Kenyans love Barack Obama.

Both the Chicago Tribune and SunTimes provided in depth coverage of Obama’s 2006 trip to Africa.  When asked why he was going, this was Obama’s response:

“I’m going because Africa is important.”

Ok. I’m sure the majority of national politicians have said something similar on previous occasions.  We’ll see below if Obama’s actions and policies reflect this statement. 

Although he has much more Washington “experience,” John McCain’s record and relationship with Africa is more difficult to discern. While he has made statements condemning genocide in Rwanda and Darfur, and made various broad remarks about supporting democracy in Africa, his policy proposals are very limited.  While Obama’s website includes a section on Africa, a brief navigation of McCain’s website turned up no mention of the continent.

Perhaps most telling is the relationship of many McCain associates.

“Former” top campaign adviser Charlie Black has a rich history supporting African dictators, and guerrilla groups.  This is a common-theme among Reagan-era Republicans. In particular, Black’s company received $600,000/year from Jovas Savimbi,the head of UNITA, who waged decade-long guerrilla warfare with the Soviet-associated Angolan government.  He was also on the payroll of Zairian dictator Mobuto Sese Seko, among others.

After being exposed during the current campaign, Cindy McCain divested $2 million in funds of companies (including foreign oil/gas corps.) that did business in Sudan.

SUDAN

Both candidates have condemned the genocide in Darfur.  Both support a US/NATO No-fly Zone.  Obama:

In a situation like Darfur, I think that the world has a self-interest in ensuring that genocide is not taking place on our watch. Not only because of the moral and ethical implications, but also because chaos in Sudan ends up spilling over into Chad. It ends up spilling over into other parts of Africa, can end up being repositories of terrorist activity. Those are all things that we’ve got to pay attention to. And if we have enough nations that are willing–particularly African nations, and not just Western nations–that are willing to intercede in an effective, coherent way, then I think that we need to act.

McCain:

In 2006, John McCain and Bob Dole authored a comprehensive Op-Ed regarding U.S. involvement in Darfur. Including

…the United States should intensify efforts to persuade U.N. members to commit troops and funds for the U.N. force in Darfur, and it should develop plans for U.S. logistical support. The administration should push the United Nations to draw up firm plans for the entrance of a robust force into Darfur and contingency plans for the force to enter without Sudanese consent.

I want to add that McCain did join with Dole in the 1990s as key congressional leaders in the battle to convince President Clinton to use military force to help curb the Bosnian genocide.  Even though this is a European conflict(where it seems a different “acceptability threshold” applies), I believe he deserves credit for this effort.  However, remember we’re talking about “mid-90s” John McCain, not 2008 McCain.

CONGO

Obama has achieved considerable success in drawing attention to the seemingly endless Civil War and ethnic cleansing in Congo.

Obama worked with Sen. Brownback in 2006 and co-wrote the measure providing $52 million in US assistance to help stabilize the Congo, including $20 million for the African Union peacekeeping mission.

Interestingly, I thought one of the only intriguing questions asked at last week’s “town hall” was the following:

BROKAW: Sen. Obama, let me ask you if — let’s see if we can establish tonight the Obama doctrine and the McCain doctrine for the use of United States combat forces in situations where there’s a humanitarian crisis, but it does not affect our national security.  Take the Congo, where 4.5 million people have died since 1998, or take Rwanda in the earlier dreadful days, or Somalia.  What is the Obama doctrine for use of force that the United States would send when we don’t have national security issues at stake?

While Obama discussed the moral and national security concerns involved with preventing African genocide, he did not specifically mention the Congo.  However, his answer was well thought-out, knowledgeable, while at the same time expressing the obvious reality that we can not run to the rescue on every occasion.

Senator McCain talked about Iraq, victory, and what a “maverick” he is, while making a passing reference to Rwanda.  It is clear from this answer that for McCain, Africa is only an afterthought.  And sadly, this probably falls in line as representative of most Americans.

HIV/AIDS/POVERTY

President Clinton’s program for the funding African AIDS relief was expanded by Bush’s PEPFAR program.  While a disproportionate amount of prevention-funding went to provide “abstinence-only” education to people that need real education regarding family planning, STDs and birth control, PEPFAR did expand access to ARVs over the last few years. For this, the program should be commended.  In addition, the PMI(President’s Malaria Initiative) has shown relative success in central Africa.

However, as Nicholas Kristoff wrote in an excellent article last week, the candidates’ approaches are fundamentally different when it comes to family planning – and by extension – epidemics of disease and famine.  If there was ever a role in which the U.N. could successfully aid Africans, it could be orchestrating cooperation and widespread implementation of important family planning services.  However, that is another discussion for another time.

What is clear, is that while Obama has policies to attack these issues head-on, McCain is reluctant to even discuss issues related to AIDS and reproductive health.  Yet what can you expect from someone who aligned himself with a former mayor who made assault victims pay for their own rape kits.

Last year, when asked whether U.S. taxpayer money go to places like Africa to fund contraception to prevent AIDS, this was his response:  

“Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it.”

Does he believe that contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?

“You’ve stumped me.”

Yikes.

On the other hand, Obama’s website offers an ambitious policy initiative:

Obama and Joe Biden will double our annual investment in foreign assistance from $25 billion in 2008 to $50 billion by the end of his first term and make the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015, America’s goals. They will fully fund debt cancellation for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries in order to provide sustainable debt relief and invest at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, including our fair share of the Global Fund.

While in Africa, Barack and Michelle Obama were tested for HIV/AIDS in a Kenyan public clinic run by the CDC.  While this may seem like a typical publicity stunt by an American politician, I believe there is an incredible amount of importance in this simple gesture.  In some parts of Africa, merely submitting to a test for HIV/AIDS carries the stigma of admission of sickness.  In certain communities, if the stigma of sickness attaches, they are ostracized from their community, including their family. As a general rule, African political leaders do not get tested in public.

In South Africa, he called out former President Mbeki (essentially an AIDS-denier):

“There needs to be a sense of urgency and an almost clinical truth-telling about AIDS in this country for the problem to be solved,” said Obama, a Democrat from Illinois. “If it is not addressed in an unambiguous fashion, the percentage of people who are infected is going [to go] off the charts.”

While merely traveling to Iraq multiple times does not make John McCain more knowledgeable and perceptive on the subject of the Iraq War, the same should be said for the issues of Africa, and Obama’s tour of the continent.  However, Obama’s leadership abilities, perception, and intricate knowledge of the continent, leads me to believe that only under an Obama administration will African human rights be a foreign policy priority.

With 2 Wars, a full blown economic crisis, increasingly unaffordable health care, etc., I understand the desire to disregard Africa-related issues as inconsequential, or vastly subordinate.  After all, sub-Saharan Africa has always been treated that way.  However, from a moral, ethical, economic, and national security standpoint, it is not in our interest to ignore the problems of those who suffer the most, neither here or abroad.