OT? Maybe not: Seeking Africa info sources.

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I realize this is slightly off track, but as long-time lurker and former contributor here, I figured if anyone knew where I could find more information on this subject, it would be someone here.

In a nutshell, I am doing initial research for a professional report on the concept of Africa as an environmental, political, and medical basket case -- with an eye toward the malaise spreading to other parts of the globe. (I'm looking in particular at the Indian subcontinent/southeast Asia and South America.) Atlantic Monthly had a major article on this topic several years ago, although its focus was on the environmental causes of the continent's political problems. AIDS is now at epidemic levels in a number of countries there, the continent currently hosts some 40 civil wars, and many of its major species are at or near extinction levels. Human bones littering the roadsides are a common sight in many places.

I am looking for sources outside the usual academic venues. I have more than enough professional journal articles by one academic telling other academics about the evils of colonialism. Street-level information is the goal here. Stratfor.com, for example, seems to have some good-to-excellent sources in Africa. Other links along those lines would be ideal, as would any web sites that host Africa-related discussion groups similar to this one.

The concept, of course, has obvious y2k applications in North America and Europe. If we go Infomagic, Rwanda today could be New Jersey tomorrow in some scenarios. My paper won't come near seeing the light of day for at least a year -- assuming something less than an 8-10 post-rollover -- but in the meantime I will pass along any research that seems pertinent to the discussion here. The e-mail at the end of this post is real and I welcome personal messages, but other participants here may well have an interest in the information as well. Thanks in advance. JD

-- JDClark (yankeejdc@aol.com), September 16, 1999


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