A Fake Birthday with a Fake Family

With the rest of Savaii gone (excluding Cochran), it's time for the power tribe to start turning on itself. But Ozzy, Dawn, and Whitney are waiting in the wings at Redemption Island. Maybe Dawn will take Ozzy out! At the Te Tuna camp, Edna is getting a little paranoid after seeing her name at Tribal.

"Doesn't this feel great?" Coach says, stupidly, "it finally feels like we're a family." But familiarity breeds contempt, and the former Upolu tribe is starting to become familiar with Cochran. Sophie is not won over by Cochran, and he is not welcome into their family/cult. It is getting pretty freaky on the island.

Cochran notes that the cult feeling is getting strange, and with the perfect music to underscore their prayer and consistent use of the word "family," I am buying into it. Are they going to murder Cochran? He needs a plan before he gets "exterminated." Not if Sophie can help it!

Cochran approaches The Family and asks for one more Tribal Council. For his birthday. Sophie's response? "Screw you." But Coach wants to keep Cochran around. Sophie says she feels "as indebted to Cochran as I do to Edna," which means no promises to either of them.

A duel at Redemption Island will break up the monotony of group decision making! The challenge is one of dish stacking. So if you ever waited tables, or hate doing dishes so you try to stack them as high as possible in the sink, this could be your bag. Has Ozzy ever waited tables? Or was he too busy catching fish in the sea? Dawn wavered a bit, but regained balance on her dish stack. Later, she drops her stack and joins the jury, in tears.

Whitney is looking like she has bused some tables in her day. Ozzy has the focus of a hawk, or my dog when you have food in your hand. Whitney loses it, and congratulates Ozzy on his almost certain opportunity to face off with Coach in the end. Dawn learned that "anything is possible!" She was so cute, telling Jeff that she loves him and kissing her buff goodbye before she goes to have some chicken wings in a hotel.

Ozzy tells us in an interview that he's excited to defeat his enemies in the coming duels, and winning is what he does best. Damn, Ozzy, you've got a case of the Island Crazies.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Edna is desperately doing laundry. Albert, so proud of what he said last time, mentions again how it's not "out-clean, out-gather, out-organize." You tell 'em, Albert. After laying in the hammock for a good two hours, Albert tries to pull some shorts out of Edna's laundry, then extinguishes the fire. This is not good for Albert.

Rick has something to say! Apparently, this whole time, Rick has been calling Albert "Prince Albert," (maybe in his head?). "He's like one of them Barbie dolls, they look really cute because they don't do a damn thing," Rick says. He is not having it! He will stay silent no more!

Edna double checks the game plan with Coach, who would love nothing more than to keep Edna and Cochran around to secure him the win. He ponders whether he should be a man of integrity and stick with the original alliance and his verbal contract, or look out for himself. One thing is certain: sixth or seventh place is not acceptable for Edna.

Coach also likes Cochran, because he is a student, and will learn Tai Chi. They will soon become one with the universe, and each other. They will become ... Coachran.

For this immunity challenge, they will toss sandbags and use a slingshot. The winner gets immunity and a spa day, but the spa is back at camp, which kind of sucks. I hope Rick wins it.

Albert moves onto the final round, followed by Rick (yes! Win that spa day, cowboy!). Sophie lands the third spot in the slingshot round. Albert makes relatively quick work of it, and wins immunity and a massage. Prince Albert will enjoy the spa day, will he not?

He gets to choose one more person to join him. Who from The Family will he choose? The Father, Coach. Albert gives his reward away in lieu of a food reward later down the line, and he gives it to Cochran, whose "birthday" is coming up. This will surely only solidify the growing bond between Coachran.

Naturally, this sets Cochran's head spinning. Was it a way of currying favor, or just a farewell gift? No birthday present will go unexamined! Oh, and it's not Cochran's birthday, his real birthday was 6 months ago. This isn't exactly a Johnny Fairplay dead grandmother, but the lie did get him something!

Coach declares that he will fight for his young warrior, Cochran, even if it means sacrificing his young virgin, Edna. After his massage, Cochran sits down with Albert to take the temperature of the tribe. Albert tells Cochran that he would be ecstatic to see him go farther in the game than Rick. Someone told Albert about the "Prince Albert" comment.

Don't get rid of Rick! He's spectacular. Cochran tells Edna about the plan to oust Rick, and Edna is delighted. They like each other, because they have so much in common, like their rail-thinness and undying devotion to Coach. Cochran reports back to Coach, who strokes his beard and ponders his options to change the rest of the game by switching alliances. If I were Coach, I would ally with the least likeable people possible, and break any alliances with Brandon if possible.

Look how cute Whitney looks on the jury! I hope she and Keith are doing it now. Cochran admits that he feels humiliated to have given life to the Upolu tribe, only to be voted out seventh. Keith looks stupidly delighted to see that Cochran will perish. Edna has her moment as number 6, and then Brandon pipes up.

"Tonight, my vote is for Cochran, and the next night, my vote is for Edna." OK, Brandon, way to stick to the plan as loudly as possible. Coach says Brandon's steadfastness is both a blessing and a curse, which brings Brandon, inexplicably, to tears.

"I'm human, but there's something stronger inside me that won't .... anything worth having's not going to be easy," Brandon cries. This opens up a glorious door for Cochran:

"Brandon has revealed that he's probably not the best person to be in a strategic partnership with, because talking strategy with Brandon is like talking to you about shirts that aren't blue," Cochran says to Jeff. Oh my god, perfection. Jeff is clearly trying to point out that Brandon is a loose cannon and a liability and they should vote him out.

"This has been an eye-opening tribal, hasn't it?" Jeff says, to which Sophie responds, "no." We'll see! Why wont they vote out Brandon? Ah, soon enough. We'll see if Coach switches, though. He loves Cochran, but he is also a man of his word.

The votes go back and forth, between Cochran and Rick. The final vote is for Cochran. Happy Fake Birthday, little buddy. Now he has to go face the god-like, strong, glowing Ozzy and his fish. That's too bad, Cochran gave us all the best soundbites.

Source http://www.buddytv.com/articles/survivor/survivor-recap-a-fake-birthday-42949.aspx

As doctors jailed, Western nations plan weapons sales to Bahrain

MARK COLVIN: In Bahrain, 20 doctors have been given jail sentences of up to 15 years.

Their crime - treating demonstrators who protested against the ruling family in February and March this year.

Thirteen doctors were sentenced to 15 years in jail. Others were given jail terms of five and ten years.

International human rights groups are outraged by the sentences.

Amnesty International has called the proceedings a 'travesty of justice'.

But Western nations have been more careful in their response, as Jess Hill reports.

JESS HILL: Thousands of Bahraini citizens took to the streets in February this year, calling for democratic elections and political reform.

In one video, dated to February 18th, demonstrators are seen marching towards army tanks in the capital, Manama. They are chanting, and many are waving Bahraini flags.

(Protesters chanting)

Suddenly, security forces open fire.

(Sound of gun fire)

Wounded protesters were taken to the capital's main hospital, the Salmaniya Medical Complex.
Doctors there were overwhelmed.

(Sounds of wailing)

DOCTOR: Definitely a live ammunition, because the femur, the bone, is completely shattered in pieces, many, many, many pieces.

JESS HILL: Dr Ghassan Dhaif was at Salmaniya Medical Complex that day. He made a frantic call to Al Jazeera.

GHASSAN DHAIF: The hospital is full of casualties. All the medical staff are running all over the place. There are victims thrown in the road, nobody can free them, nobody can bring them to the hospital. It's chaos here in the hospital.

We are an innocent people, they haven't done anything, anything, they have just demonstrated peacefully. They were on their way to the hospital and they were shot dead.

JESS HILL: Dr Ghassan Dhaif is now one of 20 doctors sentenced to jail in a Bahraini military court over night.

Dr Dhaif, along with 13 of his colleagues, received the heaviest punishment, 15 years in jail.

The hearing lasted seven minutes. None of the doctors on trial were present at the sentencing. One doctor, Nada Dhaif, who spoke to The World Today, found out about her sentence via Twitter.

The government says these doctors are guilty of crimes against the state. It charged the doctors with stealing medicine, possessing weapons, occupying a public building, and instigating hatred against another sect.

Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak al Khalifa, is a spokesman for Bahrain's Ministry of Information.

ABDUL-AZIZ BIN MUBARAK AL KHALIFA: I say that they were involved with the Hard Nine protesters in seeking regime change. That is the red line that we will not allow. As worldwide you would expect it, you know, to be the norm.

JESS HILL: Widney Brown is the senior director of International Law and Policy at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London.

WIDNEY BROWN: Absolutely appalling, but unfortunately not surprising. Clearly what's happening is the government wants to punish anyone who gives what they see as support to the protesters, in this case it's medical service providers doing what they must do, which is trying to save people's lives, and they're being punished for that.

JESS HILL: Was there anything in the government's charges that warranted a trial?

WIDNEY BROWN: Based on our research, absolutely not. I think the reason they were charged, and this is absolutely illegitimate, is because they were talking to the press and they were talking to people from, for instance, Amnesty International, to give information about the wounds.

JESS HILL: Britain and the United States have issued statements on the sentences, but stopped well short of condemning them. The British foreign secretary, William Hague, said, quote, "the sentences appear disproportionate to the charges brought", and called the developments worrying.

The US State Department says it's 'deeply disturbed' by the sentences, and said the Bahraini government should provide fair trials, access to attorneys and judicial transparency.

Widney Brown, from Amnesty International, says the Britain and the United States are being soft on Bahrain's government, because of the Gulf state's strategic importance.

WIDNEY BROWN: We all know that Bahrain is considered a key country for military purposes, the Fifth Fleet is stationed there. So the willingness to come down hard on the Bahrainian authorities when they're obviously using force against their own people, there's less willingness to take that on board than there was, say for instance, in the first country, Tunisia, which had not real significant political or strategic power.

JESS HILL: The US Defence Department is currently planning to sell Bahrain $53 million worth of weapons. Likewise, the British government invited Bahrain to the UK's largest arms fair earlier this month.

Widney Brown:

WIDNEY BROWN: We're one of the main non-governmental organisations pushing for an arms treaty precisely to stop this type of sale of arms. Basically what we're saying, whether it's a government or a private broker who's selling arms, and we know there's a strong likelihood they'll be used for violations for laws of war, IHL (International Humanitarian Law), or human rights laws. And it has to be stopped.

JESS HILL: A lawyer for the doctors said the group will appeal the verdict next month before Bahrain's High Court of Appeal.

MARK COLVIN: Jess Hill.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3329927.htm

Berber culture reborn in Libya revolt

In a packed classroom on a cool evening near the front line in Libya's civil war, 15-year-old Mira is teaching children to spell out the names of animals in the ancient Berber script, an act that once could have landed her in one of Muammar Gaddafi's jails.

The indigenous people of north Africa, known to others as Berbers and among themselves as Amazigh, were brutally suppressed under Gaddafi, who considered the teaching of their language and culture to be a form of imperialism in his Arab country.

They have become crucial supporters of the rebellion seeking to topple Gaddafi, with their stronghold in the Nafusa Mountains southwest of Tripoli emerging as one of the main fronts.

Berber was the main language of North Africa before Arabic arrived with the Muslim conquest in the 7th century. It is still spoken in the Sahara and in mountainous parts of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as well as Libya.

Activists say most of the Arabs of North Africa are in fact descended from Amazigh peoples who were there before the arrival of Islam.

Today, the rebel-held town of Jadu, normally home to about 20,000 people but now swollen with refugees from areas within shelling range of Gaddafi's troops, has become the center for the rebirth of Amazigh culture and language. Shops have painted Amazigh signs above their doors.

For a few weeks, a radio station has been broadcasting from here in both Arabic and Amazigh, in what Berber activists believe are the first conversations in their language over Libyan airwaves in four decades.

An Amazigh publishing house has printed four books so far over the past month, billed as Libya's first publications in the language since Gaddafi seized power.

And there is Mira's school, where classes are held six evenings a week from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

The children study the Amazigh language at basic and advanced levels, as well as English, and sing songs in the courtyard. Their teachers learned Amazigh in secret from their parents at home.

Nearby is a museum, with local artifacts defiantly labeled in the once-banned script, items bearing the distinctive geometric patterns that Berbers say are part of their heritage.

Early in his rule, Gaddafi declared that anyone studying the Amazigh language was drinking "poisoned milk from their mother's breast," explained Fathi Anfusi, a 48-year-old Amazigh activist who escaped Tripoli and arrived in Jadu last month.

Gaddafi accused Amazigh activists of being on the payroll of Western intelligence agencies and seeking to divide the country. Berber activists were rounded up and jailed. The hero of their movement, a poet and journalist named Said Mahrooq, was paralyzed after being run down by a car. Even giving children Amazigh names was forbidden.

Anfusi, an agronomist by profession, wanted to name his daughter Tala, a Berber name meaning "fountain." He was forced to register her with the Arabic name Hala instead.

FRIENDS ... FOR THE REVOLUTION

Even the Berber name of the Nafusa mountain range was banned. On Gaddafi's maps, the region is known only as the Western Mountains.

Gaddafi's government still uses hostility to the Amazigh as part of its propaganda, warning Arabs in nearby towns that Berbers are coming out of the hills to attack them.

Inside rebel-held territory, Arabs and Berbers say they are united. Rebel units from Berber towns like Yefren and Jadu have been fighting side by side with units from Arab towns in the mountains, such as Zintan.

All fly the same pre-Gaddafi flag and profess similar goals of creating a democratic state.

But although they fight side by side, the units are still kept separate. When they captured the village of al-Qawalish last week, one of the first acts of the rival units was to hurriedly spray-paint the names of their Arab or Berber home towns on village walls.

An Arab rebel fighter in Zintan winced when this reporter referred to the Nafusa Mountains.

"Never say the Nafusa Mountains. That's what the Berbers call it. We call it the Western Mountains," he said.

But aren't you all friends?.

"We are friends for now," the fighter replied, pausing for a moment to consider. "For the revolution." Anfusi acknowledges that hostility between Arabs and Berbers will probably outlast Gaddafi's time in power.

"We will discover about each other. This will need time. Maybe we need five years. Maybe ten years to build our country. This is our opportunity," he said.

But in his own way, Gaddafi had inadvertently helped. The Libyan leader's crackdown on the rebellion this year had united the Arabs and Berbers of the mountains for the first time, Anfusi said.

"The people, they all hate Gaddafi."

Source http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/11/us-libya-berber-idUSTRE76A4PD20110711

Sore Eros Playing Shea Stadium

You might not call it freak folk, but there is definitely something a little freaky about Sore Eros. The mostly acoustic band twist tones into a sinister turn, emphasizing walls of abrasive noise and weaving in charmingly subtle accents of guitar and bass that hide under the din. Lead singer Robert Robinson hits some high notes that have a spritely, paranormal quality to them and bounce off the loose boundaries of the songs. They deftly waffle between the gentlest moments of the Velvets (the times when they almost made you believe they were a pop band) and more ethereal, airy structures. It is music that both gentle lulls you and inspires a few jitters.

Sore Eros play Shea Stadium on Saturday with Psychic Reality and Octo Octa. San Francisco’s Jonas Reinhardt will be DJing. Tickets are $7.

Source http://bushwickbk.com/2011/06/29/sore-eros-playing-shea-stadium/

Building economic change on the streets of Egypt and Tunisia

Few of the revolts shaking the Arab world look likely to produce democratic governments in the near term. But even those states with the best chance of improving politically are facing a daunting economic challenge: Can new Arab democracies deliver the economic goods -- in time?

Most of the Arab rebellions -- in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain -- have deteriorated into civil war, or regime-led violence. But the two countries with the best shot at democracy -- Tunisia and Egypt -- are paying a steep economic price for their upheavals. Tourism is down, labor unrest is up, investors are scared -- even as the jasmine revolutions raise popular expectations of better lives.

Tunisian Minister of Finance Jaloul Ayed worried out loud -- at the 2011 U.S.-Islamic Forum this week in Washington -- that Arab revolutions would stall "if democracy doesn't translate soon into well-being.

Legions of young Arabs -- in a region where 65 percent of the population is under 30 -- are unemployed, or can do little better than sell vegetables on the street.

As Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton bluntly noted at the U.S.-Islamic forum: "Overall, Arab countries were less industrialized in 2007 than they were in 1970. Unemployment often runs more than double the worldwide average, and even worse for women and young people."

Moreover, Clinton added: "Arab countries, almost without exception, have some of the weakest anticorruption systems in the world." And corruption was clearly a driver of the Arab revolts, especially in Egypt.

When the Mubarak regime privatized industries in its heavily state-controlled economy, it handed them off at bargain rates to cronies of Hosni Mubarak's family. This created a super-wealthy elite, while vast numbers of people live without sanitation, safe water, or reliable electricity.

"We have a significant class of scavengers who skim off the top," says Nabil Fahmy, a former Egyptian ambassador to Washington now at the American University of Cairo. These are the kinds of complaints I heard over and over in February from the people gathered for demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

I see little chance that Arab countries with huge oil wealth will move toward essential economic -- or political -- reforms, but I'm more concerned here with the countries that have the best prospects for transformation. In other words, can Tunisia and Egypt, which don't live off oil and have restored some stability, implement economic changes that meet their people's raised expectations? And how can the West help?

Tunisia, with its small, better-educated population and broader middle class, seems to have the best prospects.

As for Egyptians, I believe they are likely to be patient -- in the short term -- especially as they can look forward to democratic elections. The spectacle of Mubarak cronies -- and perhaps Mubarak and his sons -- being hauled into court, or even to jail, will buy time.

But circuses can't substitute for bread in the medium and long term. It's unclear how soon tourism will return. Many factory workers, eager to get some reward from the revolution, are striking for higher wages.

"I'm frightened about whether we have the resources to buy time," Fahmy told me. "We will grow only 2 percent this year because of the events. But we need 8 percent for at least seven to eight years just to make up for lost time and deal with unemployment.

"We need life support. We can't attract investment in the next six months."

So, Egypt needs immediate help. The U.S. has pledged $150 million in short-term assistance. Let's hope Arab gulf states, which have an interest in Egypt's success, pitch in.

But the real challenge will come in the medium and long term, when a democratic government will be judged by whether it creates jobs.

The answer -- as Turkey as shown -- is to construct a system that encourages entrepreneurs to start small and midsize businesses. Clinton stressed this week that the U.S. will work with Egypt and Tunisia to encourage foreign investment and will also establish enterprise funds to give such startups access to capital.

Clinton also advocated programs to expand Egyptian duty-free exports to the U.S., which is essential.

We've yet to see whether new, democratic Egyptian leaders will have the courage to press for vital economic changes. The corruption of the Mubarak regime has convinced many Egyptians that liberal economic reforms are a sham.

The future of Egyptian -- and Tunisian -- democracy depends on whether new leaders can give young people the better lives they fought for. For a fraction of what we spent trying to impose democracy in Iraq, we should try hard to help.

Source http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_17864790?nclick_check=1

13-year cicadas to invade here

Around the end of April, thousands of red-eyed, black-bodied, buzzing bugs will appear in Alabama — after 13 years.

The periodic cicadas — not to be confused with the larger annual cicadas —will soon emerge from holes in the ground, grow to adulthood and leave their delicate, freaky, outgrown skins attached to trees and shrubs. The males will lure lovers with their crazy buzzing. The females will lay eggs, and the 13-year process will begin again.

While the appearance of the 13-year cicadas — Brood XIX — seems to either repel or fascinate people, it always alarms gardeners. The females poke holes in shrubs and small trees to deposit their eggs, which can damage limbs. Pesticides have limited effect on cicadas, so 1/4-inch netting is the best prevention, according to The Gardener’s Network at www.gardenersnet.com. You have 5 to 10 days after they crawl from the soil to protect plants, according to the website.

As bugs go, cicadas are among the most misunderstood. Their fly-like appearance and the whirring ruckus they make in the spring probably contribute to that.

Throughout history, people have sometimes referred to cicadas as locusts. Locusts are actually grasshoppers that can appear in droves and quickly destroy crops. Cicadas were dubbed locusts because they also appeared en mass, leading people to expect a similar plague.

Many love cicadas, including cats and dogs that play with the buzzing bugs.

There are experts who can identify a cicada’s species simply by hearing its song, just like a classic rocker knows a Beatle’s title simply by hearing a few notes.

Some even eat the insects.

Cicada eating was popular in Chicago in the 1990s, so much so that it made the pages of Time Magazine, according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology periodical cicada website by J. Stein Carter.

What to expect in Alabama

The adult life of a cicada is brief but determined.

In Alabama, the nymphs should emerge from the earth during the last 10 days of April and the first week of May, said Lacy Hyche, associate professor of the Department of Entomology at Auburn University, in her informative treatise on the cicada titled, “Periodical Cicadas (‘The 13-Year Locusts’) in Alabama.”

That it takes cicadas 13 years to emerge to mate should surprise no one who has ever waited for a woman to prepare for a date. (Who hasn’t had a sister who took just under a week to bathe, wrap her hair onto giant rollers, sit under the hairdryer and then rat, tease, spray and comb it, trowel on foundation, add false eyelashes and Cleopatra eyeliner, and then squeeze into hosiery, a dress and shoes?)

According to Hyche’s article, cicadas roughly follow the following process:

Once the nymphs leave the ground, they grow, leave their split-back former shells stuck to trees and other surfaces, and emerge from as winged adults. Now, the boy of the species begins putting out the vibe. His lure is his whirring buzz, considered a song by girl cicadas, poets and entomologists. The bugs find each other and mate, and then the male dies a short time later. The female continues on, poking holes in shrubs and tree limbs in order to deposit her eggs. Then she passes. The eggs hatch, fall to the ground and head into the ground, where they spend the next 13 years getting ready for their dates.

Source http://enewscourier.com/local/x1281099788/13-year-cicadas-to-invade-here

African leaders snuff out flames of discontent

Mass demonstrations forced out rulers in Egypt and Tunisia after decades in office, but in Zimbabwe — whose leader has been in power for more than 30 years — even watching video footage of those uprisings can lead to treason charges punishable by death.

Longtime African rulers like Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe are trying to prevent people's revolts like the ones that have roiled North Africa from igniting in their own countries.

So far, they have kept the revolts at bay with tear gas, intimidation, arrests, censorship and handouts.

State-controlled TV stations in Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda and Zimbabwe are not allowed to show video footage from North Africa favorable to the protesters.

In Cameroon, where 77-year-old President Paul Biya has ruled since 1982, the government ordered cell phone companies to suspend mobile services for Twitter. This came after people used the social networking site to report the mass deployment of troops to prevent a "Drive Out Biya" march.

Sub-Saharan Africa shares many of the root causes that have prompted the uprisings in the north: rising food prices, youth unemployment and repressive regimes that subvert democracy by rigging elections. Before the Tunisian uprising, 18 African rulers or their families had held power for more than 20 years.

Analysts point to the cohesion of people in Egypt and Tunisia, and contrast it to sub-Saharan Africa's tribally based politics that leaders use to win allegiance, divide and rule. It's a tribalism that helps sustain Libya's Moammar Gadhafi and Zimbabwe's Mugabe.

Still, Na'eem Jeenah, director of the Afro-Middle East Center, said the revolts in Arab nations have sparked Africans' belief and hope in the power of mass action.

People in Swaziland, a tiny mountain kingdom in South Africa's northeast, staged a mass protest Friday over freezing civil service wages while King Mswati III, who has 14 wives, awarded himself a 24 percent increase in his budget allocation.

"There is no doubt that the Swazi people ... have been inspired by the democracy campaigns in Egypt and elsewhere, and have understood the importance of mass democratic action to change things for the better," said the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

Jeenah, whose center is in Johannesburg, said even if the revolts in North Africa have not yet caught fire south of the Sahara, governments are concerned.

Those concerns have often translated into crackdowns aimed at snuffing out opposition protests before they flicker into life.

Angola's ruler of more than 30 years, President Eduardo dos Santos, has used mass troop deployments and arrests to quash a planned pro-democracy protest. Opposition politicians and human rights lawyers in Angola, a virtual one-party state, have been receiving anonymous death threats and the cars of two lawyers were set ablaze.

In Djibouti, riot police moved against an estimated 6,000 people at an opposition political rally on Feb. 18, and opposition politicians said five people were killed and dozens wounded. A second rally planned for March 4 didn't happen after security forces filled the streets. Opposition leaders have been jailed.

"There is no way anybody can win against him," opposition leader Abdourahman Boreh said from exile in London, referring to President Ismail Omar Guelleh. "He uses all the power, all the police, all the government instruments and resources, and he uses brutality."

Uganda's Conservative Party leader John Ken Lukyamuzi said "it is very possible" the protests will spread to sub-Saharan Africa. In his own country, police fired tear gas against people protesting alleged rigging in last month's presidential vote that saw incumbent Yoweri Museveni, 66, who has been in power since 1986, win again. He threatened his opponents.

"I will deal with them decisively and they will never rise again," Museveni said, promising at one point to "bang them into jails and that would be the end of the story."

Some have used the carrot to quell unrest.

Ethiopia's 22-year government announced a cap on basic food prices within days of President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali's flight from Tunisia. Opponents said Saturday the government has rounded up some 200 opposition members in the past week "in a preemptive action to prevent the popular uprising that is sweeping through northern Africa."

In Zimbabwe, Jeenah said, people are held back from taking to the streets by fears of the beatings and torture meted out to dissenters, while Mugabe is sustained by the lack of criticism and even support demonstrated by other African leaders.

Ivory Coast threatens to slide back toward civil war since Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept that he lost November elections. As Gbagbo's intransigence turns the commercial capital, Abidjan, into a war zone, African leaders have been hesitant to intervene militarily. Some who side with Gbagbo are themselves anti-democratic.

If Gbagbo prevails, he would be the third African leader to refuse to accept election results, following the lead of Mugabe and Kenya's Mwai Kibaki.

It's a dangerous precedent. More than a dozen presidential elections are scheduled across Africa this year. If winners of free and fair elections are prevented from taking office, the people's discontent can only build.

Source http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g5biRcySSD5IjEte10LxuvC2QQdw?docId=05c335f747724f5ca9bc9833c2eef3d2