Slavery in Africa

THE WORLD TRADE CENTRE

         The original World Trade Center was a complex of seven buildings including the iconic twin towers in Lower Manhattan in New York City which opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The site is being rebuilt, with six skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the attacks. At the time of their completion, (the first) 1 World Trade Center and 2 World Trade Center were the tallest buildings in the world, surpassing the Empire State Building, which is also in Manhattan.
         The cost for the construction was $400 million ($2,169,167,354 as of 2011).^[2] The original World Trade Center was designed by Minoru Yamasaki in the early 1960s using a tube-frame structural design for the twin 110-story towers. In gaining approval for the project, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agreed to take over the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, which became the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH). Groundbreaking for the World Trade Center took place on August 5, 1966. The North Tower (1) was completed in December 1972 and the South Tower (2) was finished in July 1973; the two were collectively known as the Twin Towers, the two tallest buildings in the world at that time. The construction project involved excavating a large amount of material, which was used for landfill to make Battery Park City on the west side of Lower Manhattan.

          The complex was located in the heart of New York City's downtown financial district and contained 13.4 million square feet (1.24 million m²) of office space.^[3][4] The Windows on the World restaurant was located on the 106th and 107th floors of 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower) while the Top of the World observation deck was located on the 107th floor of 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower). Other World Trade Center buildings included the Marriott World Trade Center; 4 World Trade Center; 5 World Trade Center; 6 World Trade Center, which housed the United States Customs. All of these buildings were built between 1975 and 1981. The final building constructed was 7 World Trade Center, which was built in 1985. The second King Kong was filmed in 1976 with some scenes mentioning and seeing the World Trade Center. The World Trade Center experienced a fire on February 13, 1975, and a bombing on February 26, 1993. In 1998, the Port Authority decided to privatize the World Trade Center, leasing the buildings to a private company to manage, and awarded the lease to Silverstein Properties in July 2001.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda-affiliated hijackers flew two 767 jets into the complex, one into each tower, in a coordinated terrorist attack. After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower (2) collapsed, followed a half-hour later by the North Tower (1), with the attacks on the World Trade Center resulting in 2,752 deaths.^[5] 7 World Trade Center collapsed later in the day and the other buildings, although they did not collapse, had to be demolished because they were damaged beyond repair. The process of cleanup and recovery at the World Trade Center site took eight months. The first new building at the site was 7 World Trade Center, which opened in May 2006. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), established in November 2001 to oversee the rebuilding process, organized competitions to select a site plan and memorial design. Memory Foundations, designed by Daniel Libeskind, was selected as the master plan, which included the 1,776-foot (541 m) One World Trade Center, three office towers along Church Street and a memorial designed by Michael Arad.

AIDS IS REAL

AIDS in Africa: A Huge and Growing Problem

Figures indicate that Africa has one of the highest HIV AIDS infection rate in the world; it’s infected population amounting to more than 60% of that in world today. It is an epidemic of immense proportions still rising in a number of areas, slowing down in others who are, unfortunately, among the minority. Yet at the end of 2007, numbers indicated that sub-Saharan Africa’s aids population stood at a staggering 22 million individuals - a figure set to rise. It is evident that AIDS in Africa rampant, and in these conditions one has to wonder where the problem lies.

The Causes of HIV AIDS

It would perhaps be more prudent to state that HIV, AIDS are not one and the same. Where HIV refers to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, AIDS refers to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome which is brought on as a result of HIV. Officially accepted medical records cite the causes of infection by the HI virus as either a result of sexual penetration by an already-infected individual without the use of an appropriate prophylactic, such as a condom. An additional method of HIV infection includes the contamination of an open wound on an uninfected individual with the blood of an infected individual.
The causes of HIV AIDS in Africa are largely due to a certain degree of misinformation among large groups of the African people. Reasons for this include politicians who deny the link between HIV and AIDS, conspiracy theories that state that the use of a condom is an attempt to control the birth rate, and therefore the population, of Africa and that condoms stifles the masculinity. In addition one has to take into account the staggering amount of corruption within African governments and the misuse of HIV AIDS aid funds, all of which has contributed to the further spreading of the disease.

Africa AIDS Treatment

The spread of AIDS in Africa can further be contributed to the lack of available treatment. One speculation points out that should people know that treatment for HIV AIDS is readily available, they will come forward for testing. It is in fact and issue that sheds light on one very important question: with all the funds and organisations often readily available to offer education as well as the treatment of AIDS in Africa, why is it still spreading so rampantly? One set of figures released by UNAIDS suggests that, in an extreme scenario, almost 90 million of people in Africa will be infected with HIV AIDS in little over a decade from now.
Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, points out that the excuse of an exhausted health infrastructure is by no means a valid one. Instead he points out that the cause of the problem is often political will, something that can perhaps be proved by the unwillingness of a number of African governments to accept that AIDS in Africa is indeed a problem. That is, until recently.

Africa AIDS – The Solution

The spread of HIV AIDS in Africa can be controlled and even reduced, just like anywhere else in the world. Yet to reach that stage it will take a determined coordination between international charities and the associated African governments to ensure the successful deployment of a program to stop the spread of AIDS in Africa. Other contributing factors toward the diminished prevalence of AIDS in Africa include accurate and correct information and education as to the causes of HIV AIDS.
In the end the fight against AIDS in Africa not only becomes a battle against the disease, but a war on government corruption and perhaps sincere efforts to solve longstanding contention between the governments of Africa and those across the water.

FACTS ABOUT HEELS

High-heeled footwear (often abbreviated as high heels or simply heels) is footwear that raises the heel of the wearer's foot significantly higher than the toes. When both the heel and the toes are raised equal amounts, as in a platform shoe, it is technically not considered to be a high heel; however, there are also high-heeled platform shoes. High heels tend to give the aesthetic illusion of longer, more slender legs. High heels come in a wide variety of styles, and the heels are found in many different shapes, including stiletto, pump (court shoe), block, tapered, blade, and wedge.
According to high-fashion shoe websites like Jimmy Choo and Gucci, a "low heel" is considered less than 2.5 inches (6 centimeters), while heels between 2.5 and 3.5 inches (8.5 cm) are considered "mid heels", and anything over that is considered a "high heel"^{[citation needed]}.

History

The history of the high-heeled shoe, or a shoe whose heel is higher than the toe, is a matter of contentious and heated discussion. Shoes in general have typically served as markers of gender, class, race, and ethnicity—and both the foot and the shoe have been imbued with powerful phallic and fertility symbols as evidenced in the contemporary practice of tying shoes to a newlywed couple's car. No other shoe, however, has gestured toward leisure, sexuality, and sophistication as much as the high-heeled shoe. Fraught with contradiction, heels paradoxically inhibit movement in order to increase it, at least in appearance. Standing in heels, a woman presents herself already half-walking while at the same time reducing the length of her step, fostering the illusion of speed while suggesting an imminent fall. The higher and more unstable the heel, the more clearly these contradictions are expressed (Kunzle, 2004)^[where?]. Doctors and scholars alike have argued about the physical and cultural effects, both positive and negative, that heels have had not only on women, but on society as a whole.

[edit] Precursors to the high-heeled shoe

Most of the lower class in ancient Egypt walked barefoot, but figures on murals dating from 3500 B.C. depict an early version of shoes worn mostly by the higher classes. These were leather pieces held together with lacing that was often arranged to look like the ankh symbol, which represents life. There are also some depictions of both upper-class males and females wearing heels, probably for ceremonial purposes. Egyptian butchers also wore heels, to help them walk above the blood of dead beasts. In ancient Greece and Rome, platform sandals called kothorni, later known as buskins in the Renaissance, were shoes with high wood or cork soles that were popular particularly among actors who would wear shoes of different heights to indicate varying social status or importance of characters. In ancient Rome, sex trade was legal, and female prostitutes were readily identified by their high heels (Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece by Nigel Guy Wilson, 2005).
During the Middle Ages, both men and women would wear patten, or wooden soles, that were clearly a precursor to the high heel. Pattens would attach to fragile and expensive shoes to keep them out of the mud and other street debris when walking outdoors (Swann, 1984).
Elizabeth Semmehack, curator at the Bata Shoe Museum, traces the high heel to horse riders in the Near East who used high heels for functionality, because they helped hold the rider's foot in stirrups. She states that this footwear is depicted on a 9th-century ceramic bowl from Persia.^[1]
In the 15th century, chopines, a type of platform shoes, were created in Turkey and were popular throughout Europe until the mid-17th century. Chopines could be seven to eight or even 30 inches high, requiring women to use canes or servants to help them walk. Like pattens, chopines were overshoes, but unlike the pattens, chopines were worn almost exclusively by women. They were usually designed with cork or wood stacked as the heel.
The Venetians made the chopine into a status symbol revealing wealth and social standing for women, and tourists to Venice often remarked humorously on the outrageously high chopines. One visitor noted that they were "invented by husbands who hoped the cumbersome movement [that] entailed would make illicit liaisons difficult" (McDowell, 1989)^[where?]. Already, we can see issues of domination and submission being associated with shoes much like the lotus shoes of China. Indeed, Chinese concubines and Turkish odalisques wore high shoes, prompting scholars to speculate if heels were used not only for aesthetic reasons but also to prevent women from escaping the harem (Kunzle, 2004)^[where?].
Shoes were beginning to be made in two pieces during the 16th century, with a flexible upper attached to a heavier, stiffer sole (Swann, 1984)^[where?]. This new two-part shoe led to the heel as an actual part of the shoe rather than just an attachable .
It is sometimes suggested that raised heels were a response to the problem of the rider's foot slipping forward in stirrups while riding.^[1] The "rider's heel", approximately 1½ inches (4 cm) high, appeared around 1500. The leading edge was canted forward to help grip the stirrup, and the trailing edge was canted forward to prevent the elongated heel from catching on underbrush or rock while backing up, such as in on-foot combat. These features are evident today in riding boots, notably cowboy boots.
The simple riding heel gave way to a more stylized heel over its first three decades. Beginning with the French, heel heights among men crept up, often becoming higher and thinner, until they were no longer useful while riding but were relegated to "court-pony" wear. By the late 17th century, men's heels were commonly between three and four inches high.
In 1533, after men had already started wearing heels again, the diminutive Italian wife of Henry II, King of France, Queen Catherine de' Medici, commissioned a cobbler to fashion her a pair of heels, both for fashion and to suggest greater height. They were an adaptation of chopines and pattens (elevated wooden soles with both heel and toe raised, not unlike modern platform shoes or clogs and sabots), intended to protect the feet of the wearer from dirt and mud; but unlike chopines, the heel was higher than the toe, and the "platform" was made to bend in the middle with the foot. That raised shoes had already been worn as a fashion statement in Italy, at least, is suggested by sumptuary laws in Venice that banned the wearing of chopine-style platform shoes as early as the 1430s.

High-heeled shoes quickly caught on with the fashion-conscious men and women of the French court and spread to pockets of nobility in other countries. The term well-heeled became synonymous with opulent wealth.^{[2][unreliable source?]} Both men and women continued wearing heels as a matter of noble fashion throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. When the French Revolution drew near, in the late 18th century, the practice of wearing heels fell into decline in France due to its associations with wealth and aristocracy. Throughout most of the 19th century, flat shoes and sandals were usual for both sexes, but the heel resurfaced in fashion during the late 19th century, almost exclusively among women.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

THE ADINKRA SYMBOLS

ADINKRA
Adinkra is one of the highly valued hand-printed and hand-embroidered cloths. Its origin is traced to the Asante people of Ghana and the Gyaman people of Cote' d'lvoire (Ivory Coast). However, the production and use of Adinkra have come to be more associated with the Asante people than any other group of people. Around the 19th Century, the Asante people developed their unique art of adinkra printing. Adinkra cloths were made and used exclusively by the royalty and spiritual leaders for very important sacred ceremonies and rituals.
In modern times, however, adinkra cloths are used for a wide range of social activities. In addition to its sacred usage, it is also used to make clothing for such special occasions as festivals, church-going, weddings, naming ceremonies and initiation rites. Today, designers use adinkra symbols in creating a wide range of products including clothing accessories, interior decoration, packages and book covers.
Each of the motifs that make up the corpus of adinkra symbolism has a name and meaning derived either from a proverb, a historical event, human attitude, animal behavior, plant life, forms and shapes of inanimate and man-made objects. These are graphically rendered in stylized geometric shapes. Meanings of motifs may be categorized as follows: Aesthetics, Ethics, Human Relations and Religious concepts. In its totality, adinkra symbolism is a visual representation of social thought relating to the history, philosophy and religious beliefs of the Akan peoples of Ghana and Cote' d'lvoire.
Below are some of the most commonly used symbols, their names, sources of derivation, their literal translations and their symbolic meanings. Names and meanings of the symbols are presented in Twi (the language of the Akan peoples), and translated into English. Symbols are grouped according to the sources of derivation, namely: Creatures. (Animals, Birds and Insects), Celestial Bodies, The Human Body, Man-made objects, Non-figurative shapes and Plant life. Main symbols featured here:-

	AKOBEN (war horn - symbol of vigilance and wariness ) Akoben is a horn used to sound a battle cry.
	TAMFOA BEBRE (the enemy will stew in his own juice) symbol of importance of learning from the past
	SESA WORUBAN (I change or transform my life) This symbol combines two separate adinkra symbols, the "Morning Star" which can mean a new start to the day, placed inside the wheel, representing rotation or independent movement.
	SANKOFA (return and get it) symbol of importance of learning from the past
	WOW FORO ADOBE (snake climbing the raffia tree) Because of its thorns, the raffia tree is a very dangerous challenge to the snake. His ability to climb it is a model of persistence and prudence.
	ODO NNYEW FIE KWAN (love never loses its way home) symbol of the power of love
	NYAME NNWU NA MAWU (God never dies, therefore I cannot die) This signifies the immortality of man's soul, believed to be a part of God. Because the soul rests with God after death, it cannot die.
	NYAME BIRIBI WO SORO (God is in the heavens) A reminder that God's dwelling place is in the heaven, where he can listen to all prayers.
	NSOROMMA (child of the heavens) A reminder that God is the father and watches over all people.
	NKYINKYIM (twistings) symbol of initiative, dynamism and versatility
	NKONSONKONSON (chain links) A reminder to contribute to the community, that in unity lies strength
	MMUSUYIDEE (that which removes bad luck) symbol of good furtune and sanctity
	MATE MASIE (what I hear, I keep) The implied meaning of the phrase "mate masie" is "I understand". Understanding means wisdom and knowledge, but it also represents the prudence of taking into consideration what another person has said.
	KINTINKANTAN (puffed up extravagance)
	HYE WON HYE (that which cannot be burnt) This symbol gets its meaning from traditional priests that were able to walk on fire without burning their feet, an inspiration to others to endure and overcome difficulties.
	HWEMUDUA (measuring stick) This symbol stresses the need to strive for the best quality, whether in production of goods or in human endeavors.
	GYE NYAME (except for God) This unique and beautiful symbol is ubiquitous in Ghana. It is by far the most popular for use in decoration, a reflection on the deeply religious character of the Ghanaian people
	FUNTUNFUNEFU DENKYEMFUNEFU (siamese crocodiles) The Siamese crocodiles share one stomach, yet they fight over food. This popular symbol is a remind that infighting and tribalism is harmful to all who engage in it.
	FIHANKRA (house-compound) Typical of Akan (Asante) architecture, the communal housing compound has only one entrance and exit.
	ESE NE TEKREMA t(he teeth and the tongue) The teeth and the tongue play interdependent roles in the mouth. They may come into conflict, but they need to work together.
	EPA (handcuffs) symbol of slavery and captivity
	DWENNIMMEN (ram's horns)
	DENKYEM (crocodile) The crocodile lives in the water, yet breathes the air, demonstrating an ability to adapt to circumstances.
	DAME-DAME (name of a board game) symbol of intelligence and ingenuity
	BIN NKA BI (no one should bite the other) This symbol cautions against provocation and strife.
	AKOMA NTOSO (inked hearts) symbol of understanding and agreement
	AKOMA (the heart ) Patience & tolerance. According to Agbo, when a person is said to "have a heart in his stomach," that person is very tolerant.
	AKOKONAN (the leg of a hen) Mercy, nurturing. The full name of this symbol translates to "The hen treads on her chicks, but she does not kill them." This represents the ideal nature of parents, being both protective and corrective. An exhortation to nurture children, but a warning not to pamper them
	ADINKRAHENE (chief of adinkra symbols) This symbol is said to have played an inspiring role in the designing of other symbols. it signifies the importance of playing a leadership role.

THE WEATHER IN GHANA (ACCRA)

Local Weather Report for
Accra
Ghana

Current Accra Weather Conditions	Updated Aug 03, 2011 07:00 AM
Moderate Mist Temperature: 24°C Dew Point: 23°C Barometer: 101.4 kPa Wind: N 4 km/h Humidity: 94.1 % Visibility: 3 km
Accra Weather Forecast Summary
Today Aug 3rd Thursday Aug 4th Friday Aug 5th Saturday Aug 6th Sunday Aug 7th Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny Mix of Cloud and Sun Mostly Sunny Mix of Sun and Cloud 28°C 23°C 27°C 23°C 27°C 22°C 26°C 23°C 26°C 22°C
Accra Detailed Weather Forecast
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Wednesday Morning Temperature: 25°C Sunny with cloudy periods with a slight chance of showers or thundershowers.
Wednesday Afternoon Temperature: 28°C Sunny with cloudy periods with a slight chance of showers or thundershowers. Windy at times.
Wednesday Evening Temperature: 25°C Clear with cloudy periods. Slight chance of a thunderstorm. Windy at times.
Thursday, August 4th, 2011
Overnight Temperature: 23°C A mix of cloudy and clear skies. Slight chance of a thunderstorm.
Thursday Morning Temperature: 24°C A mix of cloud and sun with a chance of showers. Slight chance of a thunderstorm. Windy at times.
Thursday Afternoon Temperature: 27°C A mix of cloud and sun with a slight chance of showers or thundershowers. Windy at times.
Thursday Evening Temperature: 24°C Clear with cloudy periods. Windy at times.
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Overnight Temperature: 22°C A mix of clear and cloudy skies. Slight chance of a thunderstorm. Windy at times.
Friday Morning Temperature: 24°C A mix of cloud and sun. Slight chance of a thunderstorm. Windy at times.
Friday Afternoon Temperature: 27°C A mix of cloud and sun with a slight chance of showers or thundershowers. Windy at times.
Friday Evening Temperature: 24°C A mix of cloudy and clear skies with a slight chance of showers or thundershowers. Windy at times.
Saturday, August 6th, 2011
Overnight Temperature: 23°C A mix of cloudy and clear skies with a slight chance of showers. Windy at times.
Saturday Morning Temperature: 25°C A mix of cloud and sun with a chance of showers. Slight chance of a thunderstorm. Windy at times.
Saturday Afternoon Temperature: 26°C A mix of cloud and sun with a chance of showers. Slight chance of a thunderstorm. Windy at times.
Saturday Evening Temperature: 24°C Clear with cloudy periods with a slight chance of showers. Windy at times.
Sunday, August 7th, 2011
Overnight Temperature: 22°C Clear with cloudy periods. Windy at times.
Sunday Morning Temperature: 24°C Sunny with cloudy periods with a slight chance of showers. Windy at times.
Sunday Afternoon Temperature: 26°C Sunny with cloudy periods. Windy at times.
Sunday Evening Temperature: 24°C A mix of clear and cloudy skies. Windy at times.
Monday, August 8th, 2011
Overnight Temperature: 21°C A mix of cloudy and clear skies.
Monday Morning Temperature: 24°C A mix of cloud and sun.
Monday Afternoon Temperature: 27°C A mix of cloud and sun.
Monday Evening Temperature: 24°C A mix of clear and cloudy skies. Windy at times.
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Overnight Temperature: 21°C Mostly clear.
Tuesday Morning Temperature: 24°C Sunny with cloudy periods.
Tuesday Afternoon Temperature: 27°C Sunny with cloudy periods.