Monday December 7, 2009
"Our army is advancing at a firm pace, watched over by God and pushed forward by Angels."
Umar al-Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir, president of the Republic of The Sudan, from BBC Focus on Africa, January-March 1996.
"People do not want words -- they want the sound of battle -- the battle of destiny."
Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt, from a statement to the National Assembly made on 20 January 1969.
"[A]n argument against war is like telling a farmer that it is a waste of time tearing up the weeds in his maize field because more weeds will grow ... War is just like bush-clearing -- the moment you stop, the jungle comes back even thicker, but for a little while you can plant and grow a crop on the ground you have won at such a terrible cost."
Kenneth David Kaunda, president of Zambia, from his book Kaunda on Violence, Collins, 1980.
Saturday December 5, 2009
Hieroglyphs, the writing system of ancient Egypt, were used only by an elite - it is estimated that only 0.4 % of the population could read and write during the Pharaonic period. But where and how, exactly, were they used?
Where Do You Find Hieroglyphs?Tuesday December 1, 2009
First-Fruit Ceremonies, which are held annually to celebrate the new harvest, have long been part of southern African cultural life, and are still proudly celebrated by, for example, the Zulu and Swazi nations today.
Monday November 30, 2009
"The blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that they should be playing. They want to do things for themselves and all by themselves."
Steve Biko, anti-Apartheid activist, from "Letter to SRC Presidents", in I Write What I Like, 1978.
"Being black is not a matter of pigmentation - being black is a reflection of a mental attitude."
Steve Biko, anti-Apartheid activist, from "The Definition of Black Consciousness", in I Write What I Like, 1978.
