Kung Fu Panda 2...

Don't want to set off any alarm bells - but apparently we missed the real action on Wednesday as opposed to the animated one.  I took Parker and Addison and their friend Ghazi to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the French Institut. Ghazi lives in what I call the 'heart and part' of the Sandaga market where alot of the wholesale distribution takes place of  rice, potatoes, garlic, and onions as examples (and we are talking sacs and sacs and sacs piled high or being moved on carts from here to there - wherever that might be in the city). To get to his apartment we have to cross Avenue George Pompidou which is not a big deal to cross but it is a main street with lots of vendors running east/west (which I was not) and drives you directly into the Place De L' Independance.  As the boys and I cross we did notice what seemed to be more people out and at strategically located corners armed police in riot gear sitting in the back of pickups. We've seen it before around town so truthfully did not think much of it.  We picked up Gahzi and his mom was trying to explain to me about some manifestation - but I did not quite get the full story and assured her passing the Institut and coming down her street seemed fine to me.  I promised her I would stay at the Institut while the boys watched the film. I enjoy watching French films (well hard to call it that when it's Disney and it's dubbed)  and can work with either English subtitles (easier) or French subtitles (better to learn) but I knew this was all French with no subtitles and I'd already had my French lesson in the morning as it was - so I passed and instead, I would read.

My current book which has certainly grabbed my attention!! - The Poisonwood Bible.  From the web on Amazon - In 1959, Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist, takes his four young daughters, his wife, and his mission to the Belgian Congo -- a place, he is sure, where he can save needy souls. But the seeds they plant bloom in tragic ways within this complex culture. Set against one of the most dramatic political events of the twentieth century -- the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium and its devastating consequences -- here is New York Times-bestselling author Barbara Kingslover's beautiful, heartbreaking, and unforgettable epic that chronicles the disintegration of family and a nation.

Boys go for the front row seats so as not to contend with any heads in front of them. In the end the little cinema which holds maybe 150 people - only had  2 other kids show up.  It's so hard to know why the venue doesn't attract the crowd of children it could at least within the surrounding neighborhood - not sure if it was the manifestation scheduled, the price - $2 - maybe that is still out of reach for 95% of the population, there's no concession stand to buy popcorn or sodas during the film (not actually a bad thing), the weekday time was at 4:00 - before dinner and after school (with homework completed!!) and on weekends as well when they do have a film for children they only offer up one showing on a Saturday at 4:00. Options for other times don't seem to be an option.  And while maybe a few more families show up it's never ever up to capacity.  I really don't  know what their marketing strategy is or if they even have one. It's a head scratcher. After the film was over I got the boys to hang out in the kid library for another 30 minutes until it closed at 6:00.

Apparently, by this time the protest was over and I learned about the afternoon event from the article below later that evening.  Maybe there is some truth to that old proverb - What you don't know won't hurt you.

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 Senegalese police fire tear gas at opposition protesters ahead of tense presidential poll

 By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, February 15, 9:15 PM

DAKAR, Senegal — Protesters defied a government ban Wednesday and made their way to a square only blocks from the presidential palace, the closest that the opposition movement has come to the seat of power in two weeks of demonstrations ahead of next week’s election.
Senegalese police wearing helmets and fiberglass shields fired volleys of tear gas. The demonstrators dispersed, running into shops and across the dry lawn of the Place de l’Independance.

The country’s opposition had vowed to march on the palace in protest over 85-year-old President Abdoulaye Wade’s bid for a third term in the Feb. 26 ballot. Besides his age, many are angered by what they see as a violation of the constitution, because the electoral code was revised after Wade came to office to impose a two-term maximum.

A 49-year-old woman in a violet robe and matching head scarf fainted from the tear gas. The employees of a travel agency on the square helped her inside, then pulled down the security gate to watch as police chased protesters.

“I voted for Wade in 2000. I voted for him in 2007. I even came out of my house to run after his caravan,” said the woman, who asked not to be named because she works for the government and fears for her job. “But I’ve had enough. He’s too old to govern. Like all old men he is becoming senile.”

Thirteen opposition candidates are running against Wade in the election. In his 12 years in office, Wade’s government undertook the biggest building boom in the country’s history, erecting bridges, roads, freeways and a $27 million monument that was supposed to be taller than the Statue of Liberty. His administration’s many achievements, however, have been overshadowed by mounting corruption.

“It’s the way in which he plundered the country that bothers me the most,” said 38-year-old Salmone Faye. “We know his ministers. We knew where they lived before they assumed power. Some of them couldn’t even afford the 75 francs ($0.17) to take the bus into town. Now they own entire buildings.”

In a six-page declaration sent to reporters late Wednesday, Wade said that he had been endorsed by 80 political parties and 875 committees of citizens. He also outlined his government’s successes including quadrupling the nation’s budget, building 692 new schools and increasing the number of public hospitals from 17 to 35 and the number of trained doctors from 350 to 1016.

Wade’s support has visibly diminished compared to 2007, when thousands of people used to attend his rallies, and 2000, when tens of thousands flooded the streets.

However, the country’s opposition has not succeeded in mobilizing huge numbers of people. With the exception of a major anti-government demonstration in June, and the ones immediately following a January court ruling which gave Wade the right to run for a third term, the crowds at opposition protests have rarely been greater than a few thousand people.

Interior Minister Ousmane Ngom said in a statement that Wednesday’s demonstration was banned due to the “real threat to public order.” Four people have been killed in protests since Jan. 27, when the country’s highest court ruled that Wade could run again.

As protesters gathered Wednesday, columns of riot police guarded the road leading to the neoclassical presidential palace, where guardians in red uniforms stood frozen in place in front of the tall gate.

“Today is the first day of a dictatorship in Senegal,” said former prime minister Idrissa Seck, who is now running against Wade and whose convoy was blocked by police before he could reach the Place de l’Independance. “Those who are opposed to Wade’s regime are not even allowed to protest in the manner that they choose.”

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Associated Press Writer Sadibou Marone and Thomas Faye contributed to this report.